A thousand dollars in copper stolen
Sylvie Paillard
[email protected]
Thieves, seduced by the lure of tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and supplies left behind when the Woodfibre mill shut down have been covertly boating across the Howe Sound to pillage the site. And at least two boats have sunk during the raids, according to reports.
Western Forest Products' General Manager, Dave Ingram, confirmed that thieves have managed to get away with at least one spool of copper, valued at $1,000.
The Woodfibre site was watched over by one security guard and cameras when the crimes were committed. Ingram said Western Forest Products has now beefed up their security.
"We're making some moves to prevent this in the future," he said.
RCMP Cpl. Dave Ritchie said that on Tuesday (July 18), RCMP contacted Western Forest Products to report potential thefts occurring at Woodfibre. Woodfibre management subsequently contacted the RCMP on Monday (July 24) to report the theft of a copper spool. Ritchie said an investigation of camera images is ongoing.
Ritchie confirmed that one boat believed to have been involved in a Woodfibre raid washed ashore in Britannia Beach. However, the boat was unmarked and could not be linked to a crime. Unconfirmed reports state that another boat was discovered at Nexen Beach. It's anticipated that thieves attempting to replace their lost transportation will now target boats and motors in Squamish.
Ingram said Woodfibre hasn't yet been cleared out because potential buyers may want to retain the inventory.
"We're just in the process of getting bids for the site and it [clearing out] will depend on what those bids are and what the people want done with it," he said.
Theft of scrap metal, especially copper, is an expanding problem worldwide and has caused fire and death by electrocution as nearby as Langley, said Ritchie. RCMP Cst. Nick Hurder will implement strategies in Squamish following his participation in a Lower Mainland working group of RCMP members addressing the problem.
One challenging aspect is the inability to identify the source of the scrap metal once it's been burned, a common method of removing the metal's casing. Another challenge is that scrap metal dealers in the Lower Mainland won't question individuals bringing truckloads of copper into their shops, said to be valued at $2 a pound. RCMP have targeted and charged certain Vancouver metal dealers.
Local scrap metal dealer Triton Steel is not among the shops that accept loads of suspicious metal, said Ritchie.
