The thieves

Thieves generally work at night, armed with trucks, pulleys, industrial cutting tools and tractors to flatten the pylons and poles to get hold of the copper. These criminals fall into two groups: organised crime syndicates, who tend to export their loot; and subsistence thieves who steal a couple of metres at a time. These thieves often use the excuse that they "must do thisjust so that they can feed themselves and their families".

Syndicates are highly sophisticated and they have state-of-the-art equipment such as trucks with pulleys, and they are experts at first cutting off the electricity, so they can steal the cable without getting electrocuted. For inexperienced thieves, the risks are high as they can easily electrocute themselves. But syndicates use individuals who are desperate for an income, to steal copper cables and pipes at great personal risk. The cables are then stripped and sold as scrap metal to dealers.