Houston, Texas – Four people were arrested following a regular traffic stop in Harris County when 32 stolen catalytic converters were found in the trunk of a car.
The four suspects tried to avoid the traffic stop and get away on Friday. Police caught them after a short chase. The stolen catalytic converters were found in the trunk of the car.
“Catalytic converter theft is a thing and it seems the problem is only getting worse,” wrote Gonzalez. “Texas is a hot spot state.”
Authorities have told Eyewitness News they’ve seen a rise in calls about catalytic converter thefts.
Earlier this month, a catalytic converter theft led to a police chase and crash on Houston’s northeast side after investigators say three men stole six catalytic converters off of cars along Humble-Westfield Road.
The suspects allegedly used hacksaws to remove the car parts.
Catalytic converters are valuable and can be sold for $150 to $200 due to the copper inside and other valuable metals. It costs around $2,000 to replace a catalytic converter, which is required to control exhaust emissions from your vehicle.
They don’t have serial numbers or markings on them, so they’re hard to trace, which is one of the reasons why thieves steal them.
