Police on Thursday arrested five people for reportedly stealing more than 60 catalytic converters from vehicles throughout Burbank the past few months.
Detectives made the arrest about 3:30 a.m. while the culprits were in the act of removing catalytic converters from vehicles in the Van Nuys area, said Burbank police Sgt. Claudio Losacco.
Detectives recovered several converters, two-way radios, cordless reciprocating saws, gloves, knee pads, saw blades and a floor jack, Losacco said.
Arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grand theft were Lorenzo Zaleta, 28; Ana Lino, 40; Jose Guzma, 32,; Walter Delgado, 26, and Millie Luarca, 45, he said. All were due in court Monday and were being held in lieu of $20,000 bail each.
Losacco did not list in the news release a place of residence for the suspects. He could not be reached for immediate comment.
According to Nationwide insurance, catalytic converters contain precious metals and with their price skyrocketing, “thieves are helping themselves to catalytic converters that contain enough platinum, palladium or rhodium to make it worth the risk to cut it from the underbelly of your vehicle.”
Catalytic converters are sold to scrap yards for as much as $150, Nationwide said.
— City News Service contributed to this report.