JOHANNESBURG: Tunnels coursing through the bowels of the earth under the city of Johannesburg contain precious treasure — copper cables that are being stripped out and smuggled as far away as Asia. AdvertisementsAs in many other parts of the world, copper cable theft is not new in South Africa, but lately it has reached an unprecedented scale. It appears that the ebb and flow in copper cable heists are tied to the international commodity prices. “The criminals who steal our copper cable sabotage our economy,” said Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba. To try to stop the thefts, Johannesburg metro police in September created a specialized copper crime-busting unitBut the war against copper theft is being short-circuited by corruption.

Source: Manila Times October 29, 2017 16:41 UTC