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Catalytic converters thefts on the rise

Emission control devices cut off vehicles for their precious metals
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About once a week, a vehicle rumbles into Red Deer’s Central Brake and Muffler, minus its catalytic converter.

The driver is the victim of thieves who are stealing the parts used to clean exhaust fumes for their expensive precious metals, such as platinum and palladium.

“It’s a growing concern,” said service adviser Brian Lytle.

It takes a criminal only a few minutes to cut out the converters from underneath vehicles using battery-powered reciprocating saws.

Vehicles with higher ground clearance are most at risk, because there is more room for thieves to work.

The crooks are also well aware of which vehicles have the converters located in a readily accessible position behind the engine. Even school buses have been targeted.

Lytle said he averages about one vehicle a week that comes in missing its catalytic converter because of thieves. One week last month, he replaced three stolen converters.

For victims, the first sign they have been targeted is usually when they turn the key and hear an unnatural roar from the engine. It’s an expensive hassle.

Converters can cost anywhere from $500 to about $2,000 to replace, according to online sites.

Lytle said as big a problem as the thieves, are the buyers of stolen converters, which are sold for as little as $20 to $75. For legitimate sellers, converters can be worth in the hundreds of dollars as scrap.

“It’s too easy to get money for them,” said Lytle.

Scrap metal dealers who find someone at the door with a load of converters need to ask the right questions, he said.

Central Brake and Muffler’s catalytic converters all go to a trusted buyer with whom they’ve had a long relationship and who buys from many muffler shops.

Another Red Deer muffler shop said they get about two vehicles in a month with stolen converters. One victim was visiting from B.C. and had their converter stolen from their vehicle while it was parked outside their hotel.

There are likely many more stolen that muffler shops don’t hear about, because they are replaced with insurance at local dealerships, said the muffler shop representative, who did not want his name or the company’s name published.

Some converters can cost up to $1,300. Most pickups have two, and some newer pickups are equipped with three.

“They take the easiest one. It’s really common around here.”

A big part of the problem are the buyers, who must realize they are buying stolen property, he said.

Local scrap dealers are not part of the problem, police said. They have a good relationship with police and will tip them off when suspicious metal sellers show up.

Turner Valley RCMP asked for the public’s help recently in identifying a suspected catalytic converter thief who stole units out of two vehicles overnight on Jan. 17 from a local industrial park.

In St. Albert, two men were charged by RCMP in connection with catalytic converter thefts there. The suspects were found at a used car dealership with reciprocating saws.

Calgary Police Service believe a man found dead under a vehicle in that city last month was trying to steal a converter when the vehicle fell on him.

Thefts have spiked in Calgary, with just over 200 stolen last year, compared with 48 in 2018.

Edmonton Police Service raised the issue in December after more than 300 converters were reported stolen since October. By early January, that number had risen to 500, with 55 thefts reported in the first week of the year alone.



pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

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