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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
 Posted - 07/10/2007 : 18:24:53
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Stealing anything that is not nailed down, and then pulling out the nails and stealing them too.
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Thieves lured by shine of metal money from coast to coast Phil Couvrette, CanWest News Service
Aluminum billboards disappearing in Vancouver, stainless steel tanker trucks reported stolen in Quebec, a copper wire theft in New Brunswick resulting in a death, beer kegs in Nova Scotia and a two-tonne bronze statue snagged from an Ontario park.
Across the country no metal item seems too big or too small as police report an increasing number of incidents they are associating with the growing black market for scrap metal.
The phenomenon is nationwide, but British Columbia has seen the most frequent incidents, says Len Shaw, executive director of the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries, while Ontario takes the cake in terms of the volume of metal stolen.
..."B.C. has very specific social problems, drugs, etc," Shaw explained. "They're looking for cash, they go steal a billboard made of aluminum for quick money."
The metals that are getting the most attention from thieves are bronze, stainless steel, copper and aluminum.
Metal theft spares no industry or borders. According to the California Farm Bureau, metal theft in rural areas there doubled in 2005 and shot up another 400 per cent in 2006, so the state is now considering legislation to make it harder for thieves to make a quick buck off stolen scrap.
...Shaw says the phenomenon isn't necessarily new, but the size and frequency of thefts are, boosted by the fact scrap metal is a basic supply and demand issue and commodity prices are high all over the world.
But copper is a prized metal and there is a shortage in inventories, leading to higher prices, which in turn is encouraging more thefts across the nation's construction and utility sites.
The price of copper reached an eight-week high of US$3.5935 a pound -- it was US$1 a pound in 2003 -- at the New York Mercantile Exchange this past week. It has been fuelled by the U.S. housing boom and, more recently, China and India's seemingly boundless growth.
Often outshone by more precious metals, copper is commonly used in many daily items, for electricity, computer components, data and phone transmissions, plumbing as well as various household appliances.
And some thieves will take great risks for a few metres of copper wire.
In May, an attempt to break into a New Brunswick power substation to steal copper wires resulted in the electrocution of one of the two thieves.
There have been 75 break-ins at substations across the province in the last 18 months, despite tighter security.
"Some folks are just willing to take that risk," observed Sgt. Greg MacAvoy of the Charlotte County, N.B., RCMP. "Commonly, we find that a lot of folks involved in this type of activity are desperate for cash to support an addiction and are willing to do all sorts of things."....
Local government officials had recently been noticing how aluminum road signs seemed to be disappearing at a growing frequency, he added.
In addition to the value of the metal stolen, inconvenience costs also have to be factored in, MacAvoy said, such as reconstruction costs, extra man-hours of work and interruption of public services.
Overall, the RCMP said it doesn't have a specialized team investigating metal theft, but if thefts continue at this rate, community groups, businesses and even governments may start clamouring for some kind of national plan.
Last December, a two-tonne bronze statue of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was pulled from its park perch in Oakville, Ont. It's believed to have been shipped to China to be melted down. Only its head was found.
How big does metal theft get? Quebec's trucking association is concerned it is being targeted by metal thieves after a dozen stainless steel and aluminum tankers were stolen in the last couple of months. It suspects their rigs are also joining the scrap heap after being stripped of valuable steel.
"They don't show up at a local scrap yard," Shaw said of large items. "They're pretty much, we expect, put into a container and shipped overseas."...
"Police are having tremendous difficulty obtaining convictions because they are unable to do that," he said.
.....(And the Canadian Government thinks that a ban on melting coins will keep it from happening.  )
I should have chosen "Cut-n-Paste" as a forum name, since that is what I do, mostly.
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Edited by - pencilvanian on 08/31/2007 15:28:41 |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2007 : 21:39:23
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Catalytic converters now a prime target in vehicle thefts
Platinum, used to help clean car exhaust, has a high resale value.
Philip Pulliam Jr. News-Leader You must be logged in to see this link.
Leaving her job on North Jefferson Avenue on June 11, Judy Darling got in her car and immediately noticed a problem. "It sounded like a lawn mower," she said. Someone had stolen her catalytic converter.
Such thefts have become increasingly common in Springfield, police said. Enterprising thieves are cutting the converters from underneath cars and selling them for the precious metals they contain.
Platinum is used in the production of the part and can be resold.
The converters, located underneath a vehicle in the middle of the exhaust system, use a three-step process to decrease emissions of the following gases: carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. In large quantities, these emissions can be harmful to the environment, ozone layer and human health.
Stealing a converter can be simple, said Dan Larue, a mechanic at Meineke Mufflers and Brakes.
"Typically, if you have access to a cordless reciprocating saw you can have one out in as little as a minute," he said. A common brand of such saws is Sawzall.
Larue has noticed a slight increase in the number of customers who replace this piece after a theft. A replacement can cost up to $1,200.
"We've had a few," Larue said. "There hasn't been a drastic influx, but the consistency has increased in the last month."
Kim McCoy, an employee of McCoy's Iron and Metal, said newer converters can be resold for up to $140 depending on the platinum content.
The amount of platinum diminishes over time and an older part may only net $5 when resold, McCoy said.
Regardless of what thieves get in terms of profit, victims get socked with replacement costs.
It took four days and $900, but Darling's Toyota Tacoma is finally fixed. Her trust will take longer to repair.
"People need to be aware that this is happening," she said. "It happened to a co-worker of mine who parked in the same lot during the same week."
Selling a catalytic converter does have its obstacles.
It's unclear who is buying the used converters.
McCoy's has purchased some. Kim McCoy said each seller is required to have a valid state issued identification card that is copied and kept in a file along with contact information and current address.
The thefts can happen in any part of the city, but where you park can increase your risk, said Grant Story, spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.
"We have noticed an increase with businesses with large, open parking lots," Story said.
Story suggested that the best way to prevent thefts is through public awareness and involvement.
"If you see something suspicious or unusual, contact the police department," Story said. "Just because it's not your car today doesn't mean that it won't be tomorrow." Judy Darling agreed with Story. She added that it's important to use a parking lot with a surveillance system that security staff regularly monitor.
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Fanaticism is doubling one's efforts, yet forgetting one's purpose.
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Canadian_Nickle
Penny Hoarding Member
Canada
938 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2007 : 02:24:34
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If only all those lowlifes knew that they could find scrap metal in their change. Heck, they probably have pure nickels and pennies in the pay they get from their black market scrap yards that they then go and spend away like FRNs. Lol.
________________________
"A nickel's nothing to scoff at."
C. Montgomery Burns
HoardCode0.1: M28/5CAON:CA5Ni35000:CA1Cu1200:CA100Ag345:
CA10Ag250:CA50Ag100:CA25Ag30:CA500Ag48:US100Ag20:CA1000Ag16
How to read a HoardCode:
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Jason
Penny Pincher Member
USA
138 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2007 : 13:52:55
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| I was taking a old truck body tho the scrap yard the other day and the police were there. One of the guys who worked there told me someone had stole $1,400 in stainless steel and sold it there. One thing i won't have to worry about is someone stealing a catalytic converter from me. Only one of my vehicles still has one, and i wouldn't be too upset if it came up missing:) |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2007 : 20:13:49
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Even plastic isn't safe from theft, and I don't mean credit cards...
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Stolen milk crates feed black market
(This isn't about college kids getting "borrowed" milk crates for their dorms.)
LOS ANGELES - For decades, college kids have used stolen milk crates as the basic building blocks of coffee tables and dorm room shelves.
Now, a new breed of crate rustler is cashing in by swiping thousands of the containers from loading docks and selling them to shady recyclers.
The containers are chopped into bits and shipped to booming factories in China to be made into a variety of products, from pipes to flower pots.
(Is there Anything the Chinese Won't buy???)
Facing an estimated $80 million in annual losses from the thefts, dairies across the country are moving to stop the plastic pilfering. In California, companies are even hiring private detectives and staging sting operations.
"We saw them disappearing into this black hole," said Rachel Kaldor, executive director of the Dairy Institute, a trade group in Sacramento. "We just don't know who's stealing these crates off the loading docks."
In the past two years, the high-density polyethylene has joined a growing list of materials that are being stolen and sold via a thriving underground recycling network.
Among other things, thieves target copper, aluminum bleachers, beer kegs, even cemetery vases and nameplates.
It took a while for dairies to determine what was happening to their crates.
"If it were just college kids taking them, the dormitories would be overflowing with milk cases," said Stephen Schaffer, general manager of Alta Dena Dairy near Los Angeles.
The crates are made of petroleum-based plastic that has increased in value along with gasoline prices. The material now sells for 22 cents a pound, compared to 7 cents a pound in 2005, said Patty Moore, a recycling consultant in Sonoma, Calif.
Consumers can spend as much as $10 for an "authentic" dairy crate at retailers such as the Container Store. Dairies pay about $4 when they buy in bulk.
Last year, the industry lost about 20 million crates to thieves, said Clay Detlefsen, vice president and counsel of the International Dairy Foods Association.
California, the nation's largest dairy state, has taken the lead in the fight against plastic poachers.
Already hurt by the theft of milk-producing hormones and incidents of cattle rustling, the state dairy industry convinced legislators to pass a law last year that allows dairies to sue recyclers accused of accepting stolen crates. No cases have hit court yet, Kaldor said.
"Businesses are trying to control costs in very tight market conditions," Detlefsen said. "And it's not just us, the baking industry and soft drink industry is affected, too.".
After the law went into effect last January, the Dairy Institute hired private investigator Chuck Wall to educate recyclers about docomeenting purchases and to conduct sting operations against suspected offenders.
Wall, the CEO of Creative Security of San Jose, began his efforts close to his home in Santa Clara County, building on a previous local law enforcement crackdown on the theft of copper wire from construction sites.
He and undercover agents shopped around a truckload of milk crates. The 11 recyclers who took the bait were arrested.
Wall expanded his operation and now works with law enforcement officials in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties.
He said his biggest bust targeted E.S. Plastics in the Los Angeles suburb of Maywood.
In April, he said, he and his colleagues recovered 24,000 pounds of ground-up plastic from crates belonging to dairies, bakeries and beverage companies.
"It took a 50-foot trailer to haul all the stolen property out of there — at least a quarter-million dollars of plastics," Wall said.
Orlando "Alex" Bran, the owner of the company, and another person were arrested for investigation of grand theft and receiving stolen property, said Maywood police Sgt. Scott Anderson.
Los Angeles County prosecutors are considering whether to file charges. Bran, who is free on bail, declined comment.
Individual dairies, meanwhile, are adding security staff to solve the milk crate mystery.
Alta Dena Dairy, located east of Los Angeles, hired Edmund Woods, a former police officer, to find its stolen containers.
A tip led Woods to Santee Alley in the downtown Los Angeles Garment District, where he recovered more than 300 containers from merchants using them for storage.
"We don't take a large SWAT team in, just one or two officers for a uniformed presence," Woods said. "We're very polite and we go in real soft."
Wood hopes the busts encourage college students and homeowners to voluntarily return any stolen milk crates they might be using. Alta Dena's has even set up a "milk crate abuse" hotline at (800) 457-6688 for people to surrender the containers, no questions asked.
"People look at milk crates like they're nothing," Woods said. "It says right there on the crate that this is private property ... It's clearly marked so there's no mistaking it."
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I remember as a kid that my dad used to change the rear tires on the car from regular tires to snow tires in October, and he used a Steel Milk Crate to make sure the car wouldn't fall in case the jack slipped. Couldn't they go back to steel & avoid all this craziness? (I wish I had kept that old steel milk crate but it was left with the new owners of the house when I moved.)
I should have chosen "Cut-n-Paste" as a forum name, since that is what I do, mostly. |
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metal thievery
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