$500,000 in stolen catalytic converters seized in L.A. County theft ring bust

The Police Department launched its investigation last July after noticing a “significant rise” in catalytic converter thefts. It had some success in reducing thefts after an initial series of arrests but, by November, criminal activity was again on the upswing, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The department concluded that one of the suspects who had been released was involved in the theft ring again.

Then, police realized that thefts were increasing in neighboring areas, too, and roped several other agencies into their investigation, including the Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County sheriff’s departments and the Arcadia, Chino, Montclair, Azusa and West Covina police departments. The joint investigation pointed to two key locations — a place in South Los Angeles where people were buying the converters and a place in Norwalk where the converters were being stored, police said.

The investigation came to a head Tuesday, when Baldwin Park police and several other agencies raided the Norwalk storage location, arresting four people and seizing about 1,800 stolen catalytic converters that police said had a combined street value of about $500,000. One suspect ran away.

Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to a request for the names of the people arrested.

Photos posted by the department on its Facebook page showed three men and a woman in handcuffs in a storage facility and a storage container about half full with what appeared to be catalytic converters.

Catalytic converters turn toxic gases into water vapor and carbon dioxide, making car exhaust fumes less environmentally damaging. They are expensive to replace — between $1,000 and $4,000, according to AAA — because they contain precious metals. They are a frequent target for thieves because they are relatively easy to access and remove and usually contain no markings tying them back to the vehicle they were stolen from.