Thieves steal catalytic converters

A LARGE quantity of catalytic converters worth an estimated £150,000 have been stolen from a recycling yard in Carmarthenshire.

They were taken, along with power tools, from Ammanford Recycling Ltd, off Shands Road, Ammanford, in the early hours of Monday.

Catalytic converters form part of a car’s exhaust system and contain high-value metals, such as platinum and rhodium. Surging prices for these metals have been accompanied by a rise in thefts.

Ammanford Recycling director Richard Safadi said security images from the premises appeared to show people breaking in at the rear and then spending hours inside.

Mr Safadi is offering a £3,000 reward for information which results in a conviction, and has made changes on site to reduce the risk of such an incident happening again. He said catalytic converter thefts were “rife within the industry”.

He said: “It’s now become an epidemic.”

Prices for catalytic converters, he said, ranged from £50 up to £800 or £900, depending on the car. Mr Safadi said Ammanford Recycling was big enough to be able to recover from the loss, which he estimated at £150,000 for the catalytic converters. This wouldn’t have been the case, he said, for smaller firms.

“It could have put a lot of boys out of work – that’s the sad thing,” said Mr Safadi. “They have no regard for other people. We have invested a lot of money in this business over the last two years – this just puts you back.”

Dyfed-Powys Police asked anyone with imformation to call quoting DPP/0004/04/05/2021/01/C, or email 101@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk