Central Ohio catalytic converter theft ring caught, Ohio State experiencing similar thefts

Caroline Fowles
Fri, 01 Apr 2022 02:51:36 +0000
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Law enforcement officials indicted six individuals involved in a large catalytic converter theft operation in the central Ohio region. Credit: Dreamstime via TNS

Law enforcement officials have indicted six individuals involved in a large catalytic converter theft operation in the central Ohio region.

The man accused of heading this operation, Tommy Cox, was arrested March 4 for his connection to almost 1,200 catalytic converter thefts in and around Groveport, Ohio, Detective Josh Gilbert of Groveport Police, said. Ohio State and Columbus have experienced increases in catalytic converter thefts along with the rest of the nation.

On Feb. 2, Ohio State notified Columbus campus parking permit holders that more than 40 catalytic converter thefts had been reported to University Police since September 2021. University spokesperson Dan Hedman said in an email all suspicious behavior on campus should be reported to university police at 614-292-2121.

“OSUPD continues to patrol campus parking lots and garages,” Hedman said.

Gilbert said he started investigating the Groveport thefts in June 2021. He said Groveport is susceptible to catalytic converter thefts because the city has a large southern warehouse district and the Rickenbacker International Airport, which thieves target because of the box trucks in those locations.?

“They’re targeting the box trucks from our warehouses, as opposed to just individual cars, because the catalytic converters in the box trucks are much more valuable because they contain a lot more of the platinum, palladium, rhodium,” Gilbert said.?

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, there were, on average, 1,203 monthly thefts in 2020, compared to the 282 reported in 2019 and 108 in 2018.

Several metals found in catalytic converters are valuable, specifically rhodium, palladium and platinum, which could contribute to the increase in crimes regarding catalytic converters, according to the crime bureau. According to Kitco — a metal-pricing authority — rhodium is currently worth $18,300 per ounce, palladium is worth $2,215 per ounce and platinum is worth $982 per ounce as of March 31.

Gilbert said he worked alongside several other investigators in Groveport, and they used a variety of techniques like geofencing — a virtual perimeter police use to locate active mobile devices in an area — GPS data tracking, social media and surveillance to find those behind the thefts.

“We arrested two individuals in early September of 2021, and taking those two individuals in custody helped us start branching out where these things were going, where they were getting scrapped, who they were getting scrapped under,” Gilbert said.?

Ohio House Bill 408, proposed by representative Bob Young in September of 2021, was introduced with the intention to stop catalytic converter sales without a proper license and proof of ownership, according to the Ohio Legislature website.?

Gilbert said House Bill 408 will help slow down catalytic converter sales at scrap yards, and it will benefit law enforcement since they would be able to trace transactions through a database and regulate catalytic converter statistics in Ohio.

“Until we stop it at the scrap yard, you’re not going to stop it,” Gilbert said.