Thieves take $57,000 worth of catalytic converters from single Berks County lot

CAERNARVON TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Approximately two dozen trucks were stripped of their catalytic converters in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and the price tag for the losses is steep.

Berks County District Attorney John Adams says these kinds of robberies are becoming all too common.

"It needs to end. It needs to be curtailed. It needs to be stopped," he said.

This most recent case took place on an overflow lot for the Morgan Truck Company in Caernarvon Township. That is where the thieves made away with converters from approximately two dozen trucks.

Caernarvon Township Police Chief Paul Stolz says, "We estimate the loss to be about $57,000 at this time."

This heist is just one more example of an alarming and growing trend across the country.

SEE ALSO: Woman confronts brazen catalytic converter thieves outside Montco grocery store; suspects sought

Thieves are sawing off catalytic converters from vehicles and selling them on the black market or to scrap yards.

Stolz says the value is in the metals used to make these emission control devices including platinum and rhodium.

"The metal market in these converters, they can receive anywhere from $25 to $1,000 depending on what scrap yard or type of converter that it is," said Stolz.

Investigators say the bottom line is: unless your vehicle is in a garage, your vehicle is vulnerable regardless of where you live.

"I think we need to put up a flag and remind people to be very careful, that these thefts are occurring throughout the commonwealth, throughout our county here in Berks," said Adams.

There are protective shields you can put around your catalytic converter to make it more difficult to steal. You can ask your mechanic about that.

Meanwhile, anyone with information about the Morgan Truck Company heist is asked to contact police.