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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMore than 50 Indianapolis police officers will no longer be allowed to work off-duty at a metal recycling business that is under investigation in the alleged purchase of stolen scrap metal.
Raids by police and federal officials on six Indianapolis OmniSource scrap yards yesterday marked the culmination of a yearlong investigation.
No one was arrested following the raid, and no one has alleged police officers were involved in illegal activity.
“We were as surprised as anyone to learn of this,” said OmniSource spokesman Ben Eisbart. “It’s somewhat ironic because we have over the years cooperated with police to train officers in how to identify stolen scrap material.”
Eisbart said OmniSource works with utilities and contractors to encourage the marking of aluminum siding and copper pipes so they can be identified. He said the company also trains officers and employees in how to identify stolen scrap metal.
OmniSource has employed IMPD officers to work security at its yards in Marion County, but Chief Michael Spears suspended those work permits yesterday. It was not known whether any IMPD officers were implicated in the investigation.
Spears declined to discuss the investigation. He said it has been turned over to the prosecutor’s grand jury division.
High prices for aluminum, copper and other metal has driven the demand for scrap metal. Police say OmniSource knowingly purchased stolen copper, aluminum and other metals.
OmniSource, a subsidiary of Fort Wayne-based Steel Dynamics, has 10 Indiana locations. It also operates in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
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