Phoenix cops find 1,200 catalytic converters as thefts soar

PHOENIX -- An Arizona man was going through multiple theft costs Friday after detectives discovered greater than 1,200 catalytic converters packed right into a storage unit, a case that highlights a national surge in thefts of the expensive auto parts that play a critical role in reducing car emissions.

The invention followed a months-long investigation that began with a January tip that somebody was storing stolen catalytic converters in an industrial area near Phoenix Sky Harbor Worldwide Airport.

“We had been very surprised at the quantity in there,” Phoenix police Det. Adam Popelier mentioned in a police video taken Thursday as officers had been pulling converters from the jam-packed storage locker.

The 48-year-old man who police say was shopping for and promoting the convertors was charged with 40 counts of theft and will face additional expenses.

The massive rise in catalytic converters thefts across the nation has hit tens of thousands of automobile and truck owners within the pocketbook and annoyed police, who are confronted with a criminal offense that takes simply minutes to commit and is tough to resolve even when they discover the stolen parts.

Catalytic converters aren't imprinted on the manufacturing facility with serial numbers and stolen converters end up on a black market where they are chopped open for the dear metals they comprise.

Replacing one can value a motorist from $1,000 to $3,000, based on the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau, an insurance trade group that works to combat insurance fraud and crime. Police say thieves can get from $100 to $150 for every converter.

The insurance coverage group counted simply 3,969 experiences of stolen catalytic converters in 2019, more than 17,000 in 2020 and greater than 52,000 last 12 months.

Lawmakers across the nation have taken notice, introducing laws designed to make it harder for criminals to unload their loot. According to the Nationwide Insurance coverage Crime Bureau, 150 payments have been launched this yr in 36 states and enacted in 16 states.

That includes Arizona, the place Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill this month that makes possession of a catalytic converter in lots of instances against the law and provides detailed reporting requirements for scrap sellers that purchase respectable used units. They have to mark the item with the donor vehicle's serial quantity and retain it for no less than a week in authentic condition.

Scrap dealers caught with unregistered or stolen converters face a $500 tremendous for the primary offense, a $2,000 high-quality for a second and not less than double that for every further time they're caught. These possessing or making an attempt to promote a used catalytic converter that do not meet new requirements could face a six-month jail sentence.

Federal legislation is also in the works. Indiana Rep. Jim Baird is sponsoring a invoice backed by the National Insurance coverage Crime Bureau that will require serial numbers on new devices, offer grants for applications to stamp numbers on existing vehicles and vans and make it simpler to prosecute thefts.

The insurance coverage group's President and CEO David Glawe known as it a essential step in serving to deliver relief to folks straight impacted by the thefts.

Insurance often doesn't cowl a automobile proprietor's losses. Somebody carrying just legal responsibility protection or legal responsibility and collision is on the hook for the total bill. Even with complete protection, there is a deductible that may be high sufficient that it isn't value filing a declare.

“Lastly, some victims even with protection could treat the problem as a mechanical concern and just pay for it themselves and never notify their insurer,” insurance crime bureau spokesperson Tully Lehman said Friday.