The Southern Africa Funerals and Tombstones Industry Institute has raised the alarm over an expanding black market for stolen graveyard materials as gravesite vandalism surges across South Africa (SA).

According to the institute, criminal syndicates and opportunistic thieves are increasingly targeting cemeteries to steal tombstones, headstones, metal perimeter fencing, and structural bricks for resale.

Attributing the uptick in cemetery desecration partly to severe economic pressures and the rising cost of living, institute Spokesperson Mpilo Khodi warned that the trend is being fuelled by buyers seeking discounted construction and memorial materials.

“We cannot shy away from the fact that we are living in hard times and the economy is pinching our pockets,” Khodi said. “For gravesites to be vandalised, it means there is a market, someone is actually benefiting from this. It might be steel, bricks, or headstones. If someone is willing to buy used steel at a cheaper price without asking where it came from, those are the factors driving these increasing rates of gravesite vandalism.”

–ChannelAfrica–