[BITList] Child traffickers turn to metal theft | The Sunday Times

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Child traffickers turn to metal theft

Ministers call for tougher sentences for metal theft as Romanian gangs move in on a crime that puts lives at risk and has cost the UK £1bn
Robin Henry Published: 13 November 2011
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Solent coastguards lost communications for 36 hours after cables were stolen 
Hundreds of Romanian gangsters are being hunted by police investigating Britain’s metal theft epidemic as new figures reveal the crippling toll the crimes have taken on the country’s railways.

Crime syndicates from eastern Europe have moved into plundering metal from railways, telephone cables, power lines and war memorials, according to British Transport police (BTP).

There has been a surge in metal thefts this year and ministers are considering measures proposed by organisations including Network Rail, British Telecom, the Energy Networks Association and the Local Government Association to crack down on the scrap metal trade.

They want tougher sentences and the creation of a new crime, “attack on infrastructure”, that would reflect the £1 billion knock-on cost to the economy.

Police have warned that it is only a matter of time before lives are lost as metal thieves target emergency services.

Solent coastguards lost communications for 36 hours after cables were stolen and the Airwave radio communications system used by the emergency services has also been hit. Cables have been stolen from air traffic control at Stansted airport.

The thieves are also in danger. A man, thought to be from eastern Europe, was in a critical condition in hospital last night after an explosion at 3.15am at an electricity substation on an industrial estate at Oldbury in the West Midlands. It was caused by removing copper wiring.

Police have identified several hundred suspects belonging to predominantly Romanian gangs, previously linked to child trafficking and begging on the street. Detective Sergeant Chris Hearn, who heads BTP’s metal theft unit, Operation Leopard, said: “For the first time this year we are seeing foreign criminals getting involved in the metal thefts.

“These are Romanian gangs who have been based in the UK for some time. They have been behind the high street begging scams and other criminal enterprises and see this as a new opportunity to make money.”

The gangs pose more of a challenge to the police than home-grown opportunists, according to Hearn. BTP has teamed up with the Serious Organised Crime Agency to track the networks involved.

“This is more organised than the opportunist stealing from their own doorsteps,” Hearn said. “We believe they are travelling long distances to ensure the crimes are not traced back to them. We have identified around 60 to 70 offenders in each region and around several hundred in total.”

Network Rail has released figures to The Sunday Times showing the cancellations, delays and costs to train services resulting from the theft of trackside cable.

In the six months between April and October there were more than 1,602 thefts, resulting in 1,969 cancelled trains, 167 days’ worth of delays and £8.5m in lost revenue.

The worst affected regions were the northeast of England and Yorkshire, where raids on the east coast main line and its branches account for about half of all theft-related cancellations and delays.

Between April and October there were 662 cancellations, 104,302 minutes of delays and £3.4m costs along the London north-eastern route from King’s Cross to Northumberland. One theft of £140 worth of cable from Crossgates, Leeds, last month disrupted 160 trains, resulting in 2,955 minutes of delays  and £46,560 in costs.

Hearn believes the northeastern regions are being hit the most because of high unemployment and ties to the metal industry. “Cable thefts have traditionally been focused in Northumberland, Tyneside and Yorkshire, where they feed off the metal industry," he said.

“The likes of Corus [the steel company] are shutting down but there’s this element of people out of work learning how to steal from their uncles down the pub.”

Network Rail estimated there were six to eight “attacks” a day on its network on average, costing £43m over the past three years.

A private member’s bill is being proposed by Graham Jones, MP for Hyndburn, Lancashire, tomorrow calling for changes to the law around scrap metal dealers.

Measures include compulsory licences, more police powers to close illegal traders down and the introduction of cashless payments, allowing authorities to trace the source of scrap metal.

Separately, an early day motion started by Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, and calling for tougher sentencing guidelines has gained more than 72 signatures. It is backed by BT which has suffered hundreds of outages, with whole villages being cut off after having their telephone and internet services disrupted by cable thefts.

The company believes about 80% of the attacks on its lines are the work of organised gangs who use mocked-up vans and uniforms to avoid suspicion.

Luke Beeson, BT’s general manager of security, said: “This is seen as a low-risk high-reward crime. Why stage a risky armed raid on a post office when you can just dig up a phone line.”

BT has set up a private taskforce of about 40 security experts, including former policemen and forensic engineers, to investigate each theft.

“We want tougher sentences and ultimately would like to see those responsible stand trial for a new offence of ‘attack on infrastructure’ instead of petty theft,” Beeson added.

Additional reporting: Simon McGee


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