LEE COUNTY, Fla. - A Lee County man is in jail for stealing drainage grates that cover holes in the street. More than 60 are missing from around Lehigh Acres.

The East County Water Control District began noticing the missing grates back in March, and through some investigation of their own, found where they wound up.

WINK News first told you about the rising price of steel and how some people are cashing in on it at recycling centers about two weeks ago. But now, detectives say that's turned into crooks stealing steel and trying to turn a profit.

24-year-old Christopher Hamilton is charged with 43 counts of grand theft and 43 counts of dealing in stolen property for stealing and selling the drainage covers.

Hamilton admitted to stealing and selling them to local recycling centers, which in turn helped detectives catch him.

WINK News talked to Allied Recycling, which was not a part of this particular investigation, but workers there told us Allied has a strict security policy and camera system covering the center. They use it to help police catch suspected thieves.

"In order to come in here, you have to have a driver's license. The driver's license is scanned into our computer, if there's anything that's too obvious, we'll investigate, but police do a lot of investigations on stolen material. They come in here a lot looking for it and we help them out as much as they need," said Brown Thompson, Allied Recycling.

In fact, Thompson adds, a man just tried to sell him goods he believed were stolen on Friday, but Thompson turned him away.

Steel sells for about $11 per 100 pounds. Hamilton made off with about $1,000 before getting caught.

The thefts are still under investigation.