I see… prices $5-$100. (Gee, sounds like I got ripped off a bit!)
Thieves are not typically the brightest of people. Someone told them cats were valuable, so they stole them. Now, what will they actually get for them? Certainly not the value of the rare metals, as extracting the metals would eat up most of the value. If they can somehow have a buyer for the cats who can get them back into the supply chain maybe they could make decent money. There are so many stupid thieves stealing anything metal, even totally worthless stuff. They’ve busted a few metal recyclers for buying stuff that was clearly stolen. They’re supposed to be recording ID and taking pictures whenever they buy something. Much easier to go after these ‘reputable’ business owners than the thieves.
Its a sign of the times,there are few people I dislike more then thieves who are too lazy and cantankerous to hold a job,some do it for survival and some do it because of laziness and attitude and the person whos buys from a fence is as bad as the thief and mark my words its going to get worse as we allow this country to be flooded with the masses(people have to survive-work at reducing the population,make the common mans services valuble again)-Kevin
Yeah in St. Paul they stole the copper wires to street lights for about $20k in damage.
When the Russians left east germany, they took the entire street lights with them
About half a dozen or so years ago someone broke into the scrap metal yard near where I live.
They cut through the chain link one weekend and once in the yard cut a large hole in the side of the metal building.
Somehow or the other, they managed to roll out three 55 gallon barrels of scrap brass valued at about 5 grand.
I would strongly suspect that a lot of those people heisting metal are doing so to support a drug habit.
I doubt the organized ones are addicts. Just idle thieves who would be stealing something else if metal prices dropped. Addicts tend to be disorganized. Lugging around heavy metal objects and finding the right dishonest scrap metal buyer is way too much work for a scrawny meth addict. Why not just look for an open window and steal whatever you find. Don’t even need a fence. Just sit on the sidewalk in the right neighborhood and wait for an offer. City dwellers have to know this stuff.
I would strongly suspect that a lot of those people heisting metal are doing so to support a drug habit.
They say the term “junkies” came to be used for addicts because so many of them relied on cashing in scrap metal (“junk”) to support their addiction. The more things change…
You never know what dopeheads will do for a buck. Just a couple of years ago 2 people went onto a property where no one lived and drug off an old pickup truck that had been sitting for years. A neighbor called the local PD and the responding officer noticed a scrape mark in the asphalt which apparently had been caused by a rotten tire blowing out very quickly.
The cop followed that scrape mark about 3 miles and arrived at the scrap yard just as the truck was about to get squashed. The 2 people inside (a guy and his girlfriend) were about to collect on it when they were arrested by the cop.
They went through all of that just to round up a little cash for a drug high and from the court records which are easily available on-line this wasn’t their first time, or second, or third… 
I do agree that the organized ones such as the bunch holding up the yard for converters are doing it for the cash rather than drugs though.
@ok4450
The dope fiends were inside the truck as it was about to be flattened . . .?!
I guess those drugs really fry your brain . . .
LOL . . . ?!
Drug addicts can be smart , even though they got themselves in a terrible predicament. All they have to do is get it together long enough to do the job. My inlaws old home was burglarized by someone looking for drug money. He did a fine job breaking in and took only quality stuff that was hard to trace. It took a while, but they eventually caught him for another burglary and found some of their stuff in his possession.
So whats the answear?,legalizing and making these drugs readily availible? Or keep on imprisoning and ostracizing drug addicts? Either way its a terrible cost to society and the current system doesnt seem to be having much affect on it( accordin to some sources only about 10% of illegal drugs are confiscated)-Kevin
@db4690, guess I should have phrased that comment about the 2 dopeheads being inside a little better.
Inside the building waiting for the cash payout would have worked a little better…
Inside the truck could have solved that problem once and for all though…
I have no idea what the answer is regarding drug use or the distribution chain. The jails are full of people convicted of drug charges but on the other hand some of those people go right out robbing and murdering again once released.
“Inside the truck could have solved that problem once and for all though…”
I must be truly wicked, because I’m actually laughing pretty hard
Getting crushed would ensure that the dope fiends are no longer a drain on society
But it would also mean that their kids don’t have parents
It’s funny, but tragic at the same time
Strange . . .
Just back from central Ohio where they are having a drug problem. The typical user is white, suburban, and 20. Don’t know about the sellers. After 50 some years though of trying to stamp it out, I’m starting to wonder if the approach the Dutch took makes more sense.
" . . . starting to wonder if the approach the Dutch took makes more sense."
what approach?
The Dutch, alas, have been backing off their decriminilization of soft drugs a bit. They’re tired of all the drug tourists. The EU has worsened the problem with anyone able to move anywhere. Soft drug use never really was legalized, but there was an agreement the laws wouldn’t be enforced if everyone behaved. They’ve also run into a problem with EU smoking regs. The Dutch tolerated pot and hash sale and use in ‘coffee shops’, but the EU is eliminating all indoor smoking in public buildings. The Dutch wanted the drug use confined to the coffee shops (and home) to keep it out of the hands of kids. Last I knew (a while ago) they didn’t have a solution. The current government is more conservative than past ones and would probsbly love the coffee shops just to go away, but it is a practical system that works for a lot of people.