How do you take off a catalytic converter if you're going to steal one? Usually, they will pull up to parking lot, driveway, someone will hop out. They'll have a jack, like a hydraulic jack or at least a floor jack. They'll jack up the car really quickly, crawl underneath and cut it with a sawzole. There's actually no indication where it came from.
Catalytic converters are a vital part of emissions reduction in gas-powered vehicles. But that’s not why they’ve been making headlines. Thieves across the US have been sawing them off cars because they contain precious metals like platinum, palladium and rhodium. Bloomberg Businessweek contributor Evan Ratliff is here to tell the tale of a $500 million catalytic converter theft ring—and how local police departments and federal law enforcement brought it down.
Read more: How Cops Cracked a $500 Million Catalytic Converter Crime Ring
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