Press Release: Europol hosts EU metal theft conference

Europol hosted a conference on the growing trend of metal theft at Europol headquarters in The Hague on 22-23 April 2013. Law enforcement officers from EU Member States and representatives from the private sector met in the framework of the European project on Mobile Organised Crime Groups. Delegates learned of the dangers and high costs associated with this type of criminality which often impacts critical transport, communication and power networks. A recent downturn in the market price of recycled metal does not appear to have reduced the scale of metal theft across Europe.