Police in northern China's Shaanxi Province have offered 100,000 yuan
(US$13,000) in cash rewards for any clues that help crack the case
of 2,464 detonators stolen from a local coal mine Saturday.
The Shaanxi-based Sanqin Daily newspaper reports that
miners drew all the 2,800 detonators and 28 boxes of explosives
from the Xingelao coal mine's warehouse in Shenmu County on
Thursday and Friday. By Saturday afternoon, the miners had used 336
of the detonators. But, instead of returning the remaining ones to
the warehouse, they stored them in six locations in the coal
mine.
The detonators were found stolen on Sunday morning. The coal
mine informed police on Monday afternoon after failing to locate
them.
The provincial police have been involved in the investigation of
the case. Remote detection devices have been used, but, so far, to
no avail.
The police said they suspect the detonators were stolen by
someone who is familiar with the coal mine. They also expressed
worries that the detonators might pose a potential security threat
to the general public, as the thieves may sell them for profit on
the black market.
The report said the coal mine stopped production in early
February but did not return the detonators and explosives to the
civilian explosive firm from which it got them. The local coal
industry bureau, which was not informed of the case when it
occurred, has ordered the coal mine to be closed.
(CRI March 23, 2007)