‘Cat’ burglar caught with quarter-of-a-million-dollars in exhaust filters

A man has been charged with stealing more than 70 catalytic converters – the exhaust filters that contain thousands of dollars of precious metals that are literally worth more than their weight in gold.

Victoria Police have reported a 40-year-old man from South Australia was arrested in an allegedly stolen MG hatchback in a car park in Springvale last week.

It's estimated the parts – which are designed to help clean exhaust emissions before entering the atmosphere – were worth approximately $270,000.

Catalytic converters contain precious metals including platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which can be worth more than gold on the open market.

The man has been charged with 212 offences, and has allegedly been linked with thefts spanning 10 suburbs across Melbourne's north and south-east between April and June this year.

Police allege the man was also behind the wheel of a van that rammed an unmarked police car earlier this month, resulting in a police officer discharging his firearm at the vehicle – though no-one was injured in the incident.

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Thefts of catalytic converter have risen significantly in recent years – particularly in the US, where, in November 2022, authorities busted an organised crime ring that made more than half a billion US dollars from its illegal operations.

In recent days, the Los Angeles Police Department introduced a program in which motorists can have the Vehicle Identification Number from their car etched onto the catalytic converter with a laser, while a high-temperature paint is sprayed on the component that reads "marked by LAPD".

In December 2022, the Toyota Prius hybrid car went on sale in the US with a catalytic converter 'shield' as an optional extra, priced from $US140 ($AU210). Hybrid cars – which are marketed with low emissions credentials – have among the most sophisticated catalytic converter systems available on modern motor vehicles.