Mexican rail managers 'stole 360 miles worth of railroad'

[John Ashworth]

Mexican rail managers 'stole 360 miles worth of railroad'

Several midlevel managers with Mexico's state railroad company have been accused of stealing more than 360 miles of railroad and selling the materials to help pay off a company debt.

The Telegraph
10:00PM BST 08 Jun 2010

The railroad scrap, much of it high-grade steel, weighed roughly 52,000 tons, about seven times the steel used in the Eiffel Tower, said Mexico's secretary of public administration, Salvador Vega Casillas. He said the sale of such material is prohibited and that the managers never sought permission for their actions.

The employees targeted abandoned railroads in five states, including the northern border state of Chihuahua, where 239 miles worth of rails, nails, bolts and other materials were stolen, he said.

The sale allegedly occurred from 2003 to 2005 when the state company, which faces liquidation, was unable to sell all the scrap it promised to four companies following a public auction.

To meet a nearly $800,000 debt, the five employees ordered that railroads built in the 19th and 20th centuries be dismantled, Mr Vega said.

The secretary said the material was worth $140 million - far more than the debt - and yet no money was exchanged and it remains unclear what the receiving companies did with the scrap material or whether they recognized its value.

[Derek Walker]

Now that I think about it, I wonder how much of that goes on here in SA? officially sanctioned theft with the money going into the pockets of those with friends in high places? and an excuse to shutdown a line based on "too much vandalism"