Thieves Strike U.K. Metals Warehouse

"Growing demand for commodities and rising prices have made metal an attractive target for thieves in the U.S. and the U.K. According to British Transport Police officials, there has been a significant increase in metal theft over the last six months in the U.K. In the latest incident on May 31, thieves stole several hundred tons of nickel and copper from a warehouse in Liverpool that was owned by JPMorgan's Henry Bath & Son. The theft took place in spite of the stricter security measures that were put in place following JPMorgan's security review of Henry Bath. It remains unclear how the theft took place. However, authorities say that they believe that whoever stole the metal might be storing it somewhere in the U.K. before taking it to a smelting facility to make it smaller or change its appearance. The thieves will then try to sell the metal at a scrap yard, officials say. In the U.S., meanwhile, authorities are investigating the theft of roughly $500,000 worth of copper rod from a mill in Carrollton, Ga., in April. That theft is believed to be linked to several thefts of copper and other metals in a number of southern states over the last couple of months."

Excerpt from Thieves Strike U.K. Metals Warehouse
Wall Street Journal (07/15/10) Hotter, Andrea; Pleven, Liam