By Karl Plume 2 hours, 49 minutes ago
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Criminals do not normally monitor commodities markets, but high metals prices have grabbed their attention, fuelling more thefts of copper wire and other items whose metal components can be sold for scrap.
Police across the world have reported a sharp rise in copper wire theft since prices for the benchmark metal hit all time high above $4 (2 pounds) per lb in early 2006 amid rising demand from China and dwindling base metal inventories.
Thieves have been pulling up buried copper wire in remote areas or stripping it from utility poles late at night. The cost of fixing the damage to infrastructure generally is greater than the monetary return at the scrap yard.
Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Missouri have stiffened penalties for buyers and sellers of stolen metal.
"Metal theft has become one of the fastest growing crimes impacting Missouri," said Colonel James F. Keathley, Superintendent of the State Highway Patrol.
Other states also have enacted laws requiring scrap buyers to record all transactions and keep detailed records.
Record high platinum prices have fuelled more thefts of catalytic converters, which can be extracted from parked cars quickly with a power saw and some expertise. Catalytic converters contain only a small amount of platinum, but thefts have increased with platinum prices around $1,400 an ounce.
However easy these heists may appear, several thieves have paid for their crimes with their lives.
Among the most gruesome, a looter in Germany was charred beyond recognition earlier this month after receiving a 10,000-volt shock attempting to steal a live copper cable. Police identified the man by fingerprints on a hand severed from his body by the force of the shock.