Meth heads stealing copper from farmers

California farmers are increasingly having to deal with people stealing copper wiring out of irrigation systems. The thefts, which gain the thief a few hundred dollars can cost the farmers thousands of dollars to replace. And if the theft is not noticed soon enough, the entire crop can be lost.
Police say that they believe that most of the thefts are committed by methamphetamine addicts. But if the price of copper keeps rising, I doubt it will just be methamphetamine addicts stealing it.
This isn't the first time I've written about copper salvage. A few months ago, I wrote about Vietnamese fisherman who were accidentally pulling up newer fiber optic cabling when trying to salvage old copper cables. I fully expect to see a lot more stories about stolen cables and wires in the near future.

Via New York Times: Unusual Culprits Cripple Farms in California