Wild burros as tools of theft.
We recently heard of someone who, while helping a friend move things in his garage, came across a bunch of small landmines left over from a manufacturing venture in Latin America.
The mines had been used abroad as part of an anti-theft program, to help deal with the problem of people breaking through the fence, then breaking through the wall to steal the manufacturer’s products. In concert with local authorities, the area was re-fenced with a dead zone between two fences, and it was made well known that landmines had been planted around the perimeter. While this sort of thing is frowned upon in the U.S., there is, apparently, somewhat greater latitude in other places.
The idea seemed a good one, and worked for a while. However local ingenuity eventually defeated the system. The former owner of the manufacturing facility related the story of hearing the braying of a burro late one night shortly before an explosion. As he gathered his wits about him he heard the braying of another burro. The burro’s braying lasted a bit longer than the first, but it too ended with an explosion. He then realized what was happening. The locals had cut through the first perimeter fence and were using burros to clear the path of land mines toward the inner fence. The locals followed the same path as the burros, crossed over the carcasses, and cut through the inner fence to steal the merchandise. It appears the locals have not yet heard of PETA, so it was business as usual, except, of course, for the poor burros…..
The owner of the business was so disgusted he grabbed all his stuff, piled it into a commercial transport, and came home the next day. The landmines? It seems someone loaded a crate that was supposed to stay behind.
