HAFR AL-BATIN, 11 April 2008 — A couple of metal thieves brought down five electrical towers after they pried off key steel support beams so they could sell the steal in the black market, according to a report in yesterday’s Al-Watan newspaper.
Recent strong winds contributed to the toppling of the towers, causing power outages in several rural communities near Hafr Al-Batin. When the Saudi Electricity Co. went to inspect, they found that the towers were missing metal support beams. Dozens of other towers had to be bulwarked after it was discovered that they too had strategic metal beams strip off of them by desert scavengers.
The black market in scrap metal is a booming business. The most common form of metal theft occurs at construction or public works sites.
Copper is the most prime of the stolen metals, but obviously there are people willing to steal just about anything that isn’t bolted down — or, as this case shows, even if it is.
