The Growing Black Market for Copper

I've seen or heard of home air conditioning units and commercial freezers, transformers and electric substations (while still in active operation!), and several other unmanned location types being stripped bare of metal. Sometimes with un- or partially-forseeable consequences (the substation had a cadaver in it...). Maybe nanoparticles could be designed to be integrated into metala and alloys to identify scrap and lead to capture and prosecution of the pirates?!?

Here in the UK, they have been known to hook tow trucks up to the underground service's and drag the power cables clean out of the ground.

Given the controls and waste licences in place here, I wonder who they sell the stuff to.

The area in which I live has had a spike in burglaries and the copper piping is being taken out of the older homes when the residents are gone for any extended period of tme.

Another thing to put it into perspective is that a penny actually costs more than 1 cent to make and it is likely the prices/value of all metals are going to continue up.