The Selma Times-Journal

Copper wire thieves might have thought they made off with the goods when they left Georgia, but they didn’t think about the GPS tracking device in one of the Freightliners.

That’s what led Henry County, Ga. authorities to a mobile home at 121 County Road 233 and burning rubber-coated copper wire in the yard. If the wire had been cleaned, or all the rubber burned from it, a recycler would have likely purchased it for about $20,000, authorities said.

Henry County Detective Woody Fowler said three 18-wheelers were reported stolen Monday from an AT&T warehouse near Atlanta. One was recovered just outside McDonough, Ga., south of Atlanta. It apparently had run out of gas. The other two were found in Selma.

Authorities from Georgia questioned residents in the area. They had taken in several suspects for questioning. Police haven’t made any arrests.

The rise in is the cost of recycles copper has attracted thieves, police said. Scrap grades of copper sells for about $2.50 a pound. Air conditioning coils can fetch about $500.

A new law in Alabama that went into affect requires scrap dealers to record names, addresses and driver’s license numbers and license plates of anyone selling scrap metal &045; especially copper.

Dealers are also required to pay by check to anyone selling more than $100 in scrap metal at a time.