Transit Divisional Response Unit detectives from the Victoria Police have charged a 40-year outdated man from South Australia after he allegedly stole 70 catalytic converters.

The person was charged with 212 offences together with theft of a motorcar, recklessly exposing a police officer to danger, and different theft and drug offences after he was apprehended in an allegedly stolen MG in a parking lot in Springvale final Tuesday.

The alleged thief made off with components estimated to be price $270,000.

Investigations into the person started in April after a catalytic converter was stolen from a parked automotive in Noble Park, south east of Melbourne.

Police had been in a position to hyperlink the theft to a lot of different incidents throughout 10 suburbs together with Dandenong, Springvale, Burwood, Highett, Chadstone and Brunswick.

The thefts occurred between April and June 2023.

It’s alleged the identical man was concerned in an incident on June 16 which concerned a van allegedly ramming into an unmarked police automotive at Dandenong North. The altercation resulted within the police officer discharging his firearm, nevertheless nobody was injured within the incident.

In response to Victoria Police, the Transit Divisional Response Unit is continuous its investigations and is anticipated to put extra fees on the person.

A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission management system that converts poisonous emissions from internal-combustion engines into less-toxic pollution.

Contained in the chrome steel outer is a honeycombed ceramic block containing the dear metals palladium, platinum and rhodium, with a chemical response created as exhaust gases move by means of – and naturally, these treasured metals can appeal to a good-looking value from an unscrupulous purchaser.

That is removed from the primary time an individual has been charged with catalytic converter theft.

The South Australia Police has warned thefts have been occurring all over the place from residential driveways and public automotive parks to foremost roads, with “public presence not seeming to discourage offenders”.

In April, the Queensland Police Service introduced it had charged three folks as a part of a two-month lengthy operation focusing on the theft of catalytic converters throughout the South Japanese Area.

The Queensland Police Service says you possibly can deter cat thefts by not solely parking your automotive securely, but additionally by portray your cats with vibrant paint and engraving the car’s registration variety of VIN on the painted floor.

It additionally advises house owners, sellers and workshops to not go away automobiles up on ramps or stands, which makes it even simpler for thieves to entry the half.

MORE: Crackdown on dodgy recyclers may lower catalytic converter thefts