Digital Subscription

tool name

close
tool goes here

Thieves steal metal from Greek infrastructure

When Greece adopted the euro, it poured billions into modernizing its infrastructure, building spectacular bridges, highways, and a new rail transit network for Athens.

Published: Feb. 12, 2013 at 12:05 a.m. PST
0 comments

When Greece adopted the euro, it poured billions into modernizing its infrastructure, building spectacular bridges, highways, and a new rail transit network for Athens.

Now, locked in recession and crushed by debt, Greeks are targeting many of those projects, gouging the metal and selling it for scrap to feed ravenous demand driven by China and India. Police say they now arrest an average of four metal thieves every day, compared with a few cases every month before the crisis started in late 2009. They are accused of stealing industrial cable, power-line transformers and other metal — triggering blackouts and train delays. The profile of the metal thief is changing from those on the margins of society to mainstream Greeks.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here

We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.

SPORTS
SOUTH SOUND
BLOGS
CONTESTS

Similar stories

  • First tastes: Two new Greek restaurants, Ammar's and My Greek

    Take a tour of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine around the South Sound. Restaurant critic Sue Kidd visits Ammar's and My Greek, two of Tacoma's newest Greek eateries. She also takes a tour of gyros at five Greek sandwich cafes.

  • My Greek opens in Tacoma's Westgate neighborhood; Ammar's Mediterranean Grill plans grand opening

    My Greek is now open in the Westgate neighborhood where Shari’s once operated. The Greek eatery does double duty with an Italian menu of pasta and pizza. My Greek is open for lunch and dinner and also has a full bar. A look at the menu shows an eatery quite similar in pricing and style to My Greek’s original location in Puyallup, which closed in July. Nader Morcos opened that restaurant in Puyallup in 2007 as the first U.S. location of the Canadian Mr. Greek chain. He left the franchise in 2008 and changed the name to My Greek.

  • Finally open: It's Greek To Me in Tacoma moves across the street

    It was just a move across the street - but the details of packing up It's Greek To Me and shuttling it a few hundred feet - overnight - were complex. It required free labor from friends, quickly tearing down and reassembling equipment and as owner Jim Wick put it, working stealthily like "Greek ninjas" through Sunday night into dawn Monday.

  • Gyros invasion: Greek restaurants becoming a lot easier to find around Tacoma

    Gyros come, gyros go. We've seen that happen a lot the last year. Recent restaurant closures include Zara Mediterranean and University Gyros, both in downtown Tacoma, My Greek in Puyallup's South Hill last July, and the closure several months ago of Gyros Place. It seemed as if the closures would drastically reduce our access to gyros, souvlaki and falafal (the horror!). Lucky for diners, when one gyros door closes here, another seems to open. Here's a report about the recent moves and upcoming openings of four Greek restaurants:

  • With an upcoming Museum of Glass residency, Tacoma sculptor is forging her own creative path

    If you do your running up Sixth Avenue from Titlow Park, you might be familiar with Gonya Klein — or at least with her work. Enormous abstract or primitivist sculptures of wood, bronze and concrete dot her lawn at the corner where the road makes a sharp turn downhill, an attention-grabbing sight in a leafy neighborhood.