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The theft of scrap metal has risen to ‘epidemic levels’ and no community is immune to its effect, a Garda spokesman in Fermoy warned this week. In highlighting the problem, he listed various items stolen in the Cork North Garda division over the past year directly connected to the trade. They included car batteries, copper tanks and copper wiring, stainless steel, lead from roofs and storage areas, lightning rods and even catalytic converters.
Describing a ‘voracious demand’ for scrap, the Garda spokesman said the global marketplace in which we now live means scrap stolen in the county can end up in places as far away as India and China.
“At every community meeting Gardai are told of the visits from ‘the men in the red or white Transit’ looking for scrap and willing to pay in cash,” he explained. Gardai are also aware of a number of criminal elements engaged in the business. “They are using this cover to gather and accumulate information which can be used at some later time to engage in burglaries,” he said.
Even more worringly, he stated, was the fact that the culprits, not content with scrap metal, have been causing serious property damage in the area in the last number of months to get at metal items, causing damage totally disproportionate to the value of the metals stolen. Among such cases was a copper tank stolen from a house which was undiscovered for two weeks resulting in almost €10,000 worth of water damage to floors, ceilings and carpets. Elsewhere, a couple of hundred feet of heavy duty copper cable was taken from an operational quarry which had to cease production for a number of days and jeopardised employment at the plant. Quests for heavy duty copper cable also led intruders to enter onto the premises of a chemical/pharmaceutical plant, a number of ESB sub stations and an operational power station.
Valuable communications equipment at an isolated location in a mountain area was also damaged and communications disrupted when an effort was made to steal a heavy duty battery. Brand new cast iron manhole covers were taken from roads and pavements in instances where fatal traffic accidents could have occurred if a car had hit the open manhole. The theft of beer kegs, which remain the property of the relevant brewery at all times, has also been reported. Two cheeky thieves, wearing high viz jackets and yellow safety helmets who stole Eircom cable on a Saturday afternoon on the outskirts of Mallow were observed and intercepted by an off-duty Garda.
“These aren’t victimless crimes. Serious injury and even death could have occurred in some of the instances both to the intruders and to ESB staff where earthing rods were removed at sub stations,” the Garda spokesman pointed out. “Any information the public can provide in this matter will greatly assist in counteracting the damage being caused to both public and private property,” he said.
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