FBI busts huge theft ring of auto catalytic converters

Written by Alma Angeles on

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SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA – Luis Benitez welds a new catalytic converter onto a Chevrolet Silverado at Johnny Franklin’s Muffler on July 11, 2022 in San Rafael, California. Thefts of catalytic converters are surging across the nation as thieves seek out precious metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium that fill the inside of the antipollution car part. Thefts have nearly tripled since the beginning of the pandemic with over 50,000 in 2021 compared to under 20,000 in 2020. Vehicle owners are having to pay thousands of dollars to replace the stolen parts and in some cases can’t get the parts due to supply chain issues.  (Photo by JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Washington, United States | AFP |

The FBI announced Wednesday that it has broken up a nationwide catalytic converter theft ring that amassed staggering assets of more than half a billion dollars.

A total of 21 people were arrested and charged in the US-wide bust, according to an FBI statement.

“They made hundreds of millions of dollars… on the backs of thousands of innocent car owners,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

Catalytic converters reduce the toxic gases and pollutants emitted by vehicle exhaust systems.

They contain many precious metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium) whose value has exploded in recent years. The car parts are easy to steal and can be sold on the black market for more than $1,000 each.

In California alone, 1,600 catalytic converters were stolen each month last year, according to Phillip Talbert, a federal prosecutor in that state.

Three of the people charged, all from California, are accused of selling more than $38 million in stolen catalytic converters as part of the ring.

© Agence France-Presse