18 people have been indicted in the scheme, which involved stealing raw copper from an Arizona mine, disguising it as scrap metal and then selling it to China via the black market.
18 Arrested in Connection with Arizona Copper Theft Ring
May 2, 2013
In Arizona, law enforcement just broke up a copper theft ring that stole $10 million in the metal. In Kansas, an energy firm hit by thefts said it will make ratepayers cover the losses.
Successful asset protection is an integral building block in the success of any retail operation. However, controlling loss and theft continues to challenge retailers worldwide, with merchandise losses averaging close to $40 billion per year (Hollinger).
The FBI said it has identified the thieves who pulled off the 1990 theft of 13 artworks from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which stands as the costliest art theft in U.S. history.
It only took eight hands of poker for a whale, what casinos call a well recognized, big stakes bettor, being unfairly fed information on the hands of others, to scam players at an Australian casino of an estimated $33 million.
A judge has ordered the owner of a scrap yard where the remains of several stolen school buses were found held in lieu of bail on a charge unrelated to the case.
More than a dozen ambulances were recovered this week in a northwest Houston scrap yard, and law enforcement officials believe the ambulances are among dozens more that were stolen. GPS in vehicles played a role.