Three charged in attempted catalytic converter theft in Columbia community, police say yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Valuable, vulnerable: SC thieves are stealing cars catalytic converters John Monk, The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Feb. 14 COLUMBIA, S.C. Thieves around the Columbia area and the state are stealing a valuable piece of equipment from your car s underbelly a gadget called a catalytic converter. Catalytic converter thefts are out of control, said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. It s not a sexy crime that gets a lot of attention, but it s very damaging to those who get one stolen. It can cost thousands of dollars to get your car repaired.
Catalytic converters, metal gizmos located under the car between the muffler and the motor, are used to scrub pollutants from a car s exhaust gases. Among the materials that are used to do that are metals as precious as gold, such as platinum, palladium and rhodium.