Scrap Metal Thieves Steal 10-Ton Bridge!

Has this gotten a bit out of control now? The world has gone crazy for scrap metal...

Thanks to commodity prices rising and the value of the dollar, euro, and several other currencies around the world depreciating, people are looking to profit off of what they see almost everyday: metal.

We've seen prices of gold and silver rise but its the rise in copper and several other metals that seem to be causing for serious problems around the globe.

Last year, Wealth Wire warned you of the large increases in theft of scrap metal and it looks like the trend is continuing on, even outside of the United States.

Just recently, in Czech Republic, thieves stole a fully-size bridge. Yes, that's correct, thieves took off with a 10-ton steel pedestrian bridge.

"How?" and "Why?", might be your next questions.

According to reports from ABC News Australia, the thieves – all of which have been identified by police-- used a crane to dismantle the bridge and around 200 meters of railway track for their profitable find. They even managed to trick the police officers during a routine check as they were taking down the bridge, presenting officers forged documents saying they were working on a new bicycle path.

The Herculean effort it took to dismante a 10-ton bridge would leave the thieves swimming in riches, right? Wrong. The stolen metal was valued at a mere 4,800 euros ($6,150), according to railway company SZDC.

For the effort of the crime, that seems a bit underwhelming. But according to several reports, the Czech Republic has been severely hit by this scrap metal thieving trend as attractive sums paid by scrap dealers are luring more and more thieves in the disadvantaged country.

Across the globe the problem is growing. In Chicago, home owners are scared that thieves will try to take down parts of their houses; from gutters and public fire hydrants to cemetery plaques and catalytic converters, the neighborhoods around the city (and across the country) are fearful of their basic metals being stolen for scrap prices.

There now are websites like ScrapTheftAlert.com that alerts residents in the United States and Canada of significant thefts of materials in local areas. You can find reports by zip code, state, or Alert IDs. This is problem is more serious than people imagine, millions of dollars of metals are being stolen each day. Stolen items are reported everyday from air conditioning units, railroad track pieces, telecommunications cables, copper wiring and piping within appliances like cable boxes and microwaves.

Other countries are doing their part to clean up this disgusting trend, like Germany and England, by using forensics to pinpoint the criminals and scenes of the crimes as both countries have experienced detrimental scrap metal theft. Germany has reported that copper thefts have increased by 32% on its Deutsche Bahn railway lines while over 8,000 German trains have experienced delays due to thefts and disruptions on the tracks.

New forensic technology and alerting websites are helping the cause, but as long as the commodity prices are at these levels, it looks as though the scrap metal thefts will continue.