Two apprehended for stealing valuable car components
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One of the suspects, a man surnamed Huang, identifies a part of the catalytic converters he allegedly stole.
Ti Gong -
A part of the stolen catalytic converters in this case
Chen Huizhi / SHINE -
The catalysts contained in the catalytic converters
Chen Huizhi / SHINE
Two men have been apprehended for allegedly stealing catalytic converters from cars, Shanghai police said on Monday.
The catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device in cars that run on fuel. In certain car models, this component, which is installed at the bottom of a car, can be removed simply with a screwdriver.
Catalytic converter thefts aren't rare, because the converter contains a certain amount of valuable metals – platinum, rhodium and palladium – which fetch high prices. But such thefts have been rarely reported in Shanghai in recent years.
Police at Cailu Police Station in the Pudong New Area started their investigation in mid-January after a man surnamed Cao reported the theft of the catalytic converter from a van.
Cao said the van was parked along Xinsheng Road beginning January 6, and something went wrong with it when it was used again six days later.
"The exhaust pipe made a weird noise when the van started, and we discovered the catalytic converter was missing," he said.
From street surveillance cameras, police spotted a suspicious man who fumbled about the van at 4am on January 12.
The man, surnamed Huang, was tracked down 11 days later in Songjiang District with 17 stolen catalytic converters as well as a toolkit allegedly used to remove the parts police seized.
Later, police caught a man surnamed Chen in Jiading District who allegedly paid Huang about 70,000 yuan (US$11,000) for 49 stolen catalytic converters.
Chen was about to sell the catalysts in the converters for 2,000 to 3,000 yuan per 500 grams, according to police.
Huang began working as a car repairman in 2020 and said he turned to crime late last year after losing his job, police said.
Police are still looking for car owners whose catalytic converters were stolen in this case. The thefts mainly took place in Chuansha and Huinan towns.
