They are back nine years later. In 2013 already, the thefts of catalytic converters had multiplied in the department of Eure-et-Loir (our editions of October 17, 2013)
Organized gangs had carried out raids on the public highway and even in businesses, such as at the Chartres Iveco heavyweight service concession in Chartres, which had seventeen utility exhausts stolen in 45 minutes.
Since February, the phenomenon has reappeared in Eure-et-Loir
More than 100 catalytic converters would have been cut on the public highway, in car parks and in companies. Le Puiset, Janville-en-Beauce, The Villages-Vovéens, Champhol, Sainville, Oysonville, Auneau-Bleury-Saint-Symphorien, Morancez, Roinville, Éole-en-Beauce, Maintenon, Senonches, Thiron-Gardais, Hips, Boisville- la-Saint-Père and Chassant as well as the Toyota dealership in Luisant are on the list of victims. A national plague.
The Citroën Xsara and Picasso victims of theft of exhaust pipes (archives 2013)
Nocturnal journeys
Not to mention the owners, uninsured for this type of theft, who did not file a complaint. Sometimes a dozen jars are stolen in a single night.
According to our information, these journeys, nocturnal, on board stolen or falsely plated vehicles, would be the work of several teams of criminals, not necessarily linked to each other. Some of these thieves content themselves with supplying traffic in spare parts, particularly to Eastern European countries.
Target models: Gangs covet very specific models: Peugeot 106, 206, 306, 406 and Partner, Citroën Xsara and Picasso, Toyota Auris, Huyndai Santa Fe and Tucson, Renault Kangoo, Clio, Twingo and Master, and Kia Sorento and Sportage.
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An underground economy
The selling price of a pot on the black market varies between 50 and 150 € depending on the model. Other thugs are very structured and operate in another form of underground economy. They entrust their loot to receivers equipped with a centrifuge, capable of separating, sorting and recovering the six metals – including four precious ones, the platinum, gold, rhodium and palladium – which make up a catalytic converter. The other two being thecerium oxide and alumina. The processed products are then sold through another specialized channel.
A price multiplied by twelve for rhodium
This return of escape flights, which is no coincidence, is linked to the soaring prices of these precious metals. Rhodium, little known to the general public, is useful in its ability to limit pollution and corrosion. It has become a more expensive metal than gold. Its price has been multiplied by twelve in less than ten years. Rare, because there are only about ten mines in the world, this silvery white metal is prized in the field of jewelry. A jar contains less than one gram of rhodium. Platinum, too, is a benchmark in precious metals. Resistant, malleable and stainless, it would have superior qualities to gold.
What is operator mode?
The modus operandi of thieves is simple: they lift the vehicles with a hydraulic jack, sneak under the chassis and cut out the exhaust. Either with a hydraulic clamp or with an advanced saw.
Unlike other departments, the thieves rampant in Eure-et-Loir do not, for the moment, tip the vehicle on its side to cut the pot.
In parallel with a cell within the information, intelligence and strategic analysis service for organized crime (Sirasco) listing national facts, Eurelian police and gendarmes remain on the lookout and patrol. They advise returning your vehicle to your garage, parking it under public lighting or near a CCTV camera, or parking it straddling the sidewalk.
Series. Eure-et-Loir has experienced other phenomena such as thefts of agricultural tractors, GPS tractors, dashboard consoles and vehicle optics, wind turbine cables, irrigation booms, phytosanitary products and seeds.
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Thierry Delaunay
[email protected]
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