Steel from Hong Kong's streets is being sold to meet the mainland's demand for scrap metal
Twenty dollars for 11kg of steel worth $2,000 sounds like a bargain - but it could be money down the drain for scrap metal dealers.
Police are cracking down on the rising trend of thefts of manhole covers from Hong Kong's streets.
With prices for scrap metal soaring everywhere as the mainland economy sucks in commodities to feed its factories, police have warned dealers against trading in manhole and drain covers.
In the past month, at least 135 covers have been stolen. Last year they were fetching 60 cents a catty, but prices this year have risen by between 70 and 80 per cent.
A police source said drug addicts and mainland scavengers were suspected of stealing the manhole covers and gratings. Thefts have been reported from parks and other public areas, and from housing estates, in various parts of Hong Kong this year.
Last month, 96 drain covers were stolen from a park at the junction of Jordan Road and Canton Road in Yau Ma Tei. Eleven were taken in Kwun Tong and 28 from the Po Lam MTR station on Mau Yip Road in Tseung Kwan O. The MTR Corporation has now secured drain covers at the station.