Crackdown on metal sales.

Jamaican legislators responded to a surge in recyclable metal thefts with a bill that requires licensing of traders and the introduction of government inspectors to monitor the transport of scrap metal, reports AP (Nov. 6, 2007). Commerce Minister Karl Samuda said the measure will enable authorities to track copper wire thieves plundering power lines and other infrastructure. In an effort to stop metal theft, Jamaica recently banned export of all recyclable metals including aluminum and bronze until a government assessment of the trade is completed. Metal thefts have skyrocketed across the globe because of high prices. Thieves cash in at scrap yards that recycle nonprecious metals.