Thieves Target Sioux Falls Business For Copper Wire

Someone in Sioux Falls is apparently trying to break into the black-market metals business, and they're starting with copper.

According to Dakota News Now, a business in the city’s industrial park near Delaware Street and F Avenue was recently hit by a bold thief (or thieves) who made off with a hefty haul of copper wire. The burglary took place sometime between midnight on September 13 and 8:00 a.m. on September 15.

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Why would someone be stealing copper wire, you ask?

Well, copper isn’t just for pennies and plumbing anymore. With skyrocketing demand from the renewable energy and manufacturing sectors, scrap copper has become the new "precious metal" for enterprising criminals. Add in the fact that processed copper is notoriously difficult to trace, and you’ve got yourself the perfect storm of high value, low accountability, and apparently, low security. Several locations that house copper lack adequate security and surveillance equipment, which helps to make them attractive targets for would-be thieves.

In the recent Sioux Falls case, authorities say the suspect(s) managed to cut a hole in a Conex box at the site and snatched up a large volume of copper wire. Between the stolen material and the damage caused, the total loss is estimated at around $18,500.

Dakota News Now reports that police are now asking for the public’s help tracking down the person (or people) behind the wire heist. If you saw something suspicious in the industrial park area around those dates, say, someone casually dragging several hundred pounds of copper wire at 3 AM, it might be time to speak up.

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Tipsters can contact Crime Stoppers online or by phone at 605-367-7007. All tips remain anonymous, and if your information leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000, which is a lot easier and more legal than crawling into a metal box in the dead of night.

Source: Dakota News Now