Mounties in Burnaby say they used undercover officers as part of a lengthy investigation into hundreds of stolen catalytic converters that they say were destined to be sent to the United States.<\/p>\n
RCMP say in a statement that its officers used search warrants on June 1, 2023, at four locations linked to one man, including his home, business, and an industrial works yard.<\/p>\n
Police say they found 439 catalytic converters, which are part of a vehicle's exhaust system, and most of those are believed to be stolen, including 392 prepackaged for shipment to the United States.<\/p>\n
British Columbia police in numerous communities have been warning about a spike in catalytic converter thefts because they contain valuable metals that can be lucrative to thieves.<\/p>\n
Mounties allege the man ran a mobile metal recycling business, which salvaged vehicles and legitimately shipped the converters across the border in bulk, but also bought and sold stolen material.<\/p>\n
He is now facing charges of attempting to possess and traffic property obtained by crime.<\/p>\n
The statement says the Insurance Corporation of B.C., the provincial public auto insurance agency, estimates that in the first seven months of 2023, catalytic converter theft set off about $8.2 million in claims.<\/p>\n
It says in 2022, Burnaby had an estimated 725 catalytic converters reported stolen.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mounties in Burnaby say they used undercover officers as part of a lengthy investigation into hundreds of stolen catalytic converters that they say were destined to be sent to the United States. RCMP say in a statement that its officers used search warrants on June 1, 2023, at four locations linked to one man, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"","source":"The Canadian Press","byline":"The Canadian Press","published":"2024-06-26T08:30:14","updated":"2024-06-26T15:30:14","_infotelid":"IT105424","_prepressid":"105424","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,532,493],"tags":[],"region":[206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inwheels","category-nonit","category-topnews","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/566\/mounties-seize-439-catalytic-converters-in-bc-theft-and-trafficking-investigation\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Mounties seize 439 catalytic converters in BC theft and trafficking investigation","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/566\/mounties-seize-439-catalytic-converters-in-bc-theft-and-trafficking-investigation\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/566\/mounties-seize-439-catalytic-converters-in-bc-theft-and-trafficking-investigation\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/MediaItemID105424-9670.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/MediaItemID105424-9670.jpg"},"articleSection":"iNwheels","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Howard Alexander"}],"creator":["Howard Alexander"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2024-06-26T15:30:14Z","datePublished":"2024-06-26T15:30:14Z","dateModified":"2024-06-26T22:30:14Z"},"rendered":"