China-bound copper thefts stop Australian trains

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - With stopped trains, stolen phone lines and pilfered power cables, Australians are paying a hefty price for China's pre-Olympic building boom, police said on Thursday.

Organised gangs are being blamed by authorities for stealing copper cabling worth millions of dollars, selling it to China to help construction of buildings possibly including Beijing's "Bird's Nest" National Stadium, site of Olympic ceremonies and track events.

"The theft of this stuff has caused the train system to shut down for between five and seven hours. They are not just taking small lengths. They are taking up to 500 metres at a time," Victoria Police detective sergeant Barry Hills told Reuters.

In recent weeks police in Australia's second most populous state have seized more than 15 tonnes of stolen copper cabling stashed in shipping containers and warehouses.

Detectives have been investigating a crime gang that in the past five years has shipped $18.5 million (9.1 million pounds) worth of black-market copper to Chinese companies involved in building construction including major Olympic venues, the Herald Sun newspaper said.

"I wouldn't say those reports are wrong," Hills said, declining to say more as investigations continue.

China is the world's biggest copper user, with consumption expected to reach 5 million tonnes in 2008, up from 4.8 million tonnes last year, according to China's chief copper smelter Jiangxi Copper Co. Ltd.

Most is used in fast-expanding power grid infrastructure, as well as construction, electronics and machinery manufacture.