More copper "stuff"13th July 2018 By: Bloomberg SANTIAGO On nights lit by a full moon, thieves leap from trucks onto trains as they roll through Chiles Atacama desert, before throwing 80-kg slabs of copper to the ground and disappearing into the dark. Its a tactic known as the cat and the robbers are moles because no one knows where they come from or where they hide their loot. Whats worse for the mines that dot the desert, the robberies are becoming more common and more audacious. About 40 incidents were reported in the first half of this year, according to the prosecutors office in Antofagasta, up from just six in all of 2014. The thefts started to increase late 2017 as copper rose to the highest in more than two years. While prices have slumped in the past month, the thieves seem immune to the trade-war turmoil thats rattling metal markets. "Specialized gangs assaulting moving convoys has become common," Valeria Ibarra, Antofagastas regional coordinator of public safety, said by telephone on Thursday. "These are professionals. If they see that one company is taking security measures, theyll just move on to the next one".