Police crackdown on copper theft

Last Modified: 14 Aug 2008 Source: PA News Australian authorities have announced a campaign against a burgeoning black market in scrap copper that has seen thieves steal power lines and even school taps and is costing the nation millions of dollars. Surging demand for copper in China and India has doubled the price of the scrap metal in Australia in the past four years and has led to widespread theft of copper wire and fittings. Popular targets are electricity, telecommunications and rail networks. Police recently reported the thefts of brass taps from school drinking fountains as well as brass vases and bronze plaques from cemeteries. Brass and bronze are both copper alloys. These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for... [read full story]