Thieves raid construction sites By REID WILLIAMS, Summit Daily News, CO
'These guys are professionals,' Platte said, sizing up the criminal operation. 'I'm sure they've got lookouts down the road. They're using walkie-talkies. They're dropping a guy off; he collects all the tools and piles them up in front of the door and waits for somebody to come pick him up. They're hitting three or four sites in a night, and loading everything into box vans or large trailers in the parking lot of one of these motels around here. That's what the cops need to be looking for.'
In a bit of irony, the thieves are using heavy tools to steal more tools. Platte said the security storage units used by builders are pried open with crowbars, locks are cut with bolt cutters or saws and any security devices are disabled by shutting off the power at the site.
'In one of our thefts, they even used a drill to drill out the rivets on a door - and then they cleaned out the trailer,' Platte said.