By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : Britain's railway network is being pillaged by metal thieves as part of an international multi-million illegal network to meet the high demand for copper and other metal in India and China, police sources here say.
On Tuesday, a massive operation was launched across Europe to track down metal thieves whose activities have endangered railway operations and safety of passengers on several occasions. Several people have been arrested.
In north-east England alone, 979 cases were reported since April last year. During the Tuesday operation, the British Transport Police used patrols, sniffer dogs, undercover officers, automatic number plate recognition, and off-road bikes.
The British Transport Police have launched Operation Drum to combat cable theft and are working with the railway network to ensure that copper is not left unguarded.
Apart from high demand in India, copper and other metal is required in large quantities in the booming economy of China. Metal stolen from Britain's railway network is also being used in construction activities related to the Beijing Olympics.
Andy Trotter, deputy chief constable of the British Transport police, told the media recently: "The copper is going through larger scrap yards, then to smelters and then by ship to China, which has an incredible demand for copper, particularly with the Beijing Olympics coming and the demand for telecom infrastructure."
In northeast England, the police concentrated Tuesday on the area around Hartlepool – a known metal theft hotspot – Tyne and Wear, and Northumberland. Three arrests were made in Morpeth, one in Gateshead, and information was gathered across the region.
Officers also visited scrap yards to check books, help owners identify stolen cable, and remind them the danger of handling stolen goods. The police believe that copper theft was one of their biggest problems, after terrorism.
Detective superintendent Ashley Croft told the media after the Tuesday operation: "We are delighted this day of action has delivered significant results. As well as the arrests, we have also gathered valuable intelligence we will now act on."
Detective chief inspector Danny Snee added: "After the threat of terrorism, the theft of cable is one of our biggest challenges. Those who steal cables are not just risking a prison sentence but are also risking their lives. It is an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and causes hours of delay to thousands of passengers."
The network's failsafe system means that any cut cable turns all signals in the area to red and brings all nearby trains to a halt. Passengers are not put at risk, but they are massively inconvenienced by the delays it causes.
In March, a similar crackdown saw three people arrested for cable theft in the Cliff House area, near Hartlepool, and two arrested after being stopped in a van in Ullswater Road, Hartlepool, which carried stolen cable.
Several copper thefts have been reported in the Coventry area in the east Midlands. Earlier this year, the police said that brass, copper, aluminium and bronze worth up to pounds 100,000 had been stolen across Warwickshire during 2006.
Thieves had even stolen road signs, as well as targeting industrial and building sites.
The global price of copper has reportedly risen five-fold since 2001.