CAR owners are being warned that there have been a couple of catalytic converter thefts from parked cars during the past month in Wellington.

Sgt Jon O’Connor told members of Wellington Town Council on Monday (March 2) that it was no coincidence that the thefts had happened at a time when there had been an increase in the scrap value of certain precious metals which makes those contained within catalytic convertors “that more appealing.”

He said: “Thieves will often target Japanese models or those with higher ground clearance due to the placement of the converter which makes access easier to remove it from the vehicle,”.

“Hybrid vehicles also contain a greater amount of expensive material inside. Removal can be within a minute or two by either climbing underneath or temporarily jacking the car up and using a small electric saw to cut through the exhaust system at either end.”

Sgt O’Connor, in his monthly police report, advised that these thefts could be prevented by various after-market guards that can be bought and fitted to catalytic converters.

“Another tip is to protectively mark the converter with an identifying stamp or forensic solution so that it would be harder to sell on and therefore less likely to be stolen,” he added. “Whenever the price of scrap metal rises, we naturally see an increase in metal theft and so we work with local scrap metal dealers to ensure they are complying with their legal obligations and taking diligent steps to prevent them from inadvertently purchasing stolen goods.”

Sgt O’Connor also reminded scrap yard owners of their obligations if they are offered catalytic converters in the future.

“It is ok to act dumb, but it’s sometimes obvious what they’re being offered and they could end up facing a charge of handling stolen goods,” he warned.