Guyana's Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has warned that it is prepared to shut down the country's entire scrap-metal trade if the theft and sale of stolen copper continues unchecked. In a statement issued on Saturday, the ministry said the step would be a last resort, but one it would not hesitate to take if illegal activity within the sector persists. Licensed dealers found purchasing or handling stolen copper, it added, face immediate cancellation of their licences and possible prosecution.

The warning follows the theft of roughly 90 feet of heavy-duty copper cable, valued at around G$1.62 million, from the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge. The cable was taken between 23 August and 1 September. Ministry officials confirmed that those identified in connection with the incident held no licence to trade in scrap metal. One day before the ministry's statement, 39-year-old Roy Morgan, described as having no fixed place of abode, was sentenced to twelve months in prison after pleading guilty to simple larceny over the theft. The man accused of purchasing the stolen cable remains on bail of $300,000. According to the ministry, he is a repeat offender who was implicated in a similar case earlier this year and is likewise unlicensed.

For legitimate operators, the message from the ministry was unambiguous. No licensed dealer will be permitted to facilitate, purchase, sell or otherwise deal in copper obtained illegally, and any dealer found to have done so will lose their licence at once, alongside facing prosecution where the evidence supports it. The Guyana Metal Recyclers Association has already sought to distance the registered trade from the incident, stating that no legitimate dealer or exporter was involved in the theft. Whether that distinction holds any weight with regulators may depend on how the ministry chooses to define compliance going forward, since its statement leaves little room for dealers who claim ignorance of where their materials originate.

The ministry framed the crackdown in terms that go beyond ordinary theft. Copper cable of the kind stolen from the bridge carries live infrastructure, and its removal exposes roads, bridges and public utilities to damage that can take weeks to repair and considerably longer to fund. Officials described the destruction of public infrastructure and the unlawful removal of private property as intolerable, language that positions the issue less as a matter of petty crime and more as a threat to national assets. Guyana's rapid infrastructure expansion, driven in large part by oil revenue, has left bridges, transmission lines and construction sites increasingly exposed to opportunistic theft, and copper's resale value on the scrap market gives thieves a ready incentive.

There is also a practical dimension to the threat of a total shutdown. Guyana's scrap-metal sector, while modest by regional standards, employs a number of licensed dealers who rely on legal exports for their livelihood. A blanket ban would penalise those operators alongside the unlicensed individuals the ministry is actually targeting, a tension the statement did not directly address. It is a policy tool likely intended to pressure the legitimate trade into greater vigilance over its suppliers rather than one the ministry expects to use imminently.

The ministry closed its statement by pledging continued enforcement. It said it remained committed to protecting the integrity of the scrap-metal industry, ensuring compliance with Guyana's laws and regulatory requirements, and pursuing anyone found operating outside the law. Whether that commitment translates into sustained monitoring, rather than a response prompted by a single high-profile theft, will likely determine whether copper theft from public infrastructure recurs before the year is out. For now, the burden falls on licensed dealers to demonstrate they are not, even unwittingly, part of the problem the ministry says it is determined to stop.

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