Gardai note an increase in catalytic converter robberies

THEFT of catalytic converters continues to be a regular contributor to crime statistics in local policing districts, with a notable increase in Lucan, Rathcoole and Clondalkin.

Inflation has pushed up the price of precious metals found in the converters, and hybrid cars are a frequent target by criminals for the theft.

Stolen in seconds, thieves cut off part of the exhaust system to cash in on the metals contained within the converters, including rhodium, palladium and platinum.

Chief Superintendent Finbarr Murphy said it is something the car industry “will have to take into consideration.”

Speaking at the JPC Policing meeting this week, he noted a major catalytic converters gang, based in Santry was arrested 17/18 months ago.

“It is a quite a quick crime, normally found in supermarket carparks and places like that, they lie on a trolley under a wheel jack, it can take less than a minute,” said Chief Superintendent Murphy.

“We didn’t have this crime ten years ago, but it is something that the industry will have to take into consideration.”

At a JPC meeting last year, former Tallaght Garda Station Superintendent Ian Lackey, said the precious metals are smelted down by criminals.

“Originally it was Eastern Europeans, but the Irish criminal has now learned the trade,” he said at the time.

“Each one (catalytic converter) has about 7-9 grammes of precious metals, which world prices have pushed up. It is very hard to trace back to vehicles because there are no individual numbers on them.

Dublin Mid West TD Mark Ward was himself a victim of the crime in 2021, when thieves targeted his hybrid car at his apartment block in Lucan.

At the JPC meeting, Cllr Derren Ó Brádaigh (SF) noted a ‘day of action’ was planned by gardai to target thefts from vehicles, but found it worrying that the statistics showed an increase.

“We were told this day of action was successful, but the figures show this is still a problem,” said Cllr Ó Brádaigh.

TD Emer Higgins (FG) reported a “lot” of catalytic converter thefts in new areas of Lucan, including Adamstown and St Helens, and called for policing safety meetings to be organised for Adamstown.

The most recent statistics showed theft from vehicles increased this year in Clondalkin by 65 per cent (23 incidents in 2021 to 38 in 2022), Lucan by 69 per cent (13 incidents to 22), and Rathcoole saw 27 incidents this year, compared to just 8 in 2021.