Intelligence Assessment (Unclassified)
Prepared by the
FBI Criminal Intelligence Section
September 15, 2008

Scope Note

The assessment highlights copper theft and its impact on US critical infrastructure. Copper thefts are occurring throughout the United States and are perpetrated by individuals and organized groups motivated by quick profits and a variety of vulnerable targets. Information for the assessment was developed through May 2008 from the following sources:

• FBI
• Open sources

Source and Confidence Statement

Reporting relative to the impact of copper thefts on US critical infrastructure was derived from the FBI and open sources . The FBI has high confidence that the FBI source reporting used to prepare the assessment is reliable. The FBI also has high confidence in the reliability of information derived from open-source reporting.

Key Judgments

• Copper thieves are threatening US critical infrastructure by targeting electrical sub-stations, cellular towers, telephone land lines, railroads, water wells, construction sites, and vacant homes for lucrative profits. The theft of copper from these targets disrupts the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, heating, and security and emergency services and presents a risk to both public safety and national security.¹
• Copper thieves are typically individuals or organised groups who operate independently or in loose association with each other and commit thefts in conjunction with fencing activities and the sale of contraband. Organised groups of drug addicts, gang members, and metal thieves are conducting large scale thefts from electric utilities, warehouses, foreclosed or vacant properties, and oil well sites for tens of thousands of dollars in illicit proceeds per month. ²
• The demand for copper from developing nations such as China and India is creating a robust international copper trade. Copper thieves are exploiting this demand and the resulting price surge by stealing and selling the metal for high profits to recyclers across the United States. As the global supply of copper continues to tighten, the market for illicit copper will likely increase. ³

Copper Thefts Threaten US Critical Infrastructure

Copper thieves are threatening US critical infrastructure by targeting electrical substations, cellular towers, telephone land lines, railroads, water wells, construction sites, and vacant homes for lucrative profits. Copper thefts from these targets have increased since 2006; and they are currently disrupting the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, heating, and security and emergency services, and present a risk to both public safety and national security.

• According to open-source reporting, on 4 April 2008, five tornado warning sirens in the Jackson, Mississippi, area did not warn residents of an approaching tornado because copper thieves had stripped the sirens of copper wiring, thus rendering them inoperable.
• According to open-source reporting, on 20 March 2008, nearly 4,000 residents in Polk County, Florida, were left without power after copper wire was stripped from an active transformer at a Tampa Electric Company (TECO) power facility. Monetary losses to TECO were approximately $500,000.
• According to agricultural industry reporting, as of March 2007, farmers in Pinal County, Arizona , were experiencing a copper theft epidemic as perpetrators stripped copper from their water irrigation wells and pumps resulting in the loss of crops and high replacement costs. Pinal County’s infrastructure loss due to copper theft was $10 million.

Criminal Groups Involved in Copper Thefts

Copper thieves are typically individuals or organised groups who operate independently or in loose association with each other and commit thefts in conjunction with fencing activities and the sale of contraband. Organised groups of drug addicts, gang members, and metal thieves are conducting large scale thefts from electric utilities, warehouses, foreclosed and vacant properties, and oil well sites for tens of thousands of dollars in illicit proceeds per month.

• According to open sources, as recently as April 2008, highly organised theft rings specialising in copper theft from houses and warehouses were operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These rings or gangs hit several houses per day, yielding more than $20,000 in profits per month. The targets were most often foreclosed homes.⁴
• Open-source reporting from March 2008 indicates that an organised copper theft ring used the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s foreclosure lists to pinpoint targets in Cleveland, Ohio. Perpetrators had 200 pounds of stolen copper in their van, road maps, and tools. Three additional perpetrators were found to be using the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s list of mortgage and bank foreclosures to target residences in Cleveland, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights, and other cities in Ohio.⁵

Global Demand Increasing

China , India, and other developing nations are driving the demand for raw materials such as copper and creating a robust international trade. Copper thieves are receiving cash from recyclers who often fill orders for commercial scrap dealers. Recycled copper flows from these dealers to smelters, mills, foundries, ingot makers, powder plants, and other industries to be re-used in the United States or for supplying the international raw materials demand. As the global supply of copper continues to tighten, the market for illicit copper will likely increase.