Peak copper price keeps coppers busy

Saskatoon police are probing five incidents of copper wire theft this month as thieves try to cash in on higher metal prices.

Mark Riffel of BN Steel and Metals said record-high prices are behind the higher than usual number of copper wire thefts.

He advises contractors to keep the material locked up and out of sight. "A fenced compound isn't enough. Lights or video aren't enough," said Riffel.

"They'll jump the fence, they'll cut the fence. They'll pretty much get at it if they can see it."

Riffel pays around $3-a-pound for copper and says he knows thieves are bringing stolen metal to his shop. "Someone bringing, let's say, a baby carriage full of copper wire up to the door, we would just assume it's not their material."

If Riffel thinks it's stolen, he won't buy it. But he said stopping thieves before they get the metal is key.

(Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2011/02/18/sk-copper-prices-theft.html?ref=rss)