Fergie's Tech Blog

Metal Thieves Hurt Latin American Economies

An AP newswire article Jonathan M. Katz, via The Boston Globe, reports that:

Copper exports have surged in this Caribbean nation [Dominican Republic] with no active copper mines -- thanks to thieves who plunder power and telephone lines.

Scrap metal thieves also thrive in Brazil, where vandals sawed off the arms of a bronze statue of soccer legend Pele last month. In Jamaica, bandits ripped up tracks and cables from an old Kingston railway station.

Even the U.S. has not escaped. In Fort Wayne, Ind., thousands of dollars worth of copper gutters were stripped from a church in the middle of the night last month.

Theft of scrap metal has increased sharply in recent years as prices have risen. Copper is the most tempting target because it brings the most cash per pound. The vandalism can spell disaster for countries with struggling economies, especially when it damages already shaky electrical sectors.

posted by Fergie @ 7/07/2007 04:24:00 PM