The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station has recovered 250 catalytic converters amounting to an estimated value of $750,000. Along with the auto parts, the investigation resulted in 19 arrests and the recovery of $100,000 and a gun whose serial numbers had been filed off.

Responding to high reports of catalytic converter thefts, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Crime Impact Team led this search warrant operation on Wednesday, March 10. The operation covered four different locations, mostly in the city of Los Angeles.

The Sheriff’s department reports that catalytic converter thefts have risen more than 400% throughout Los Angeles County. Meanwhile, AAA recently told the Los Angeles Times that catalytic converter thefts were up more than 90% across California in 2020.

Many sources report that thefts are up nationwide during the pandemic, with some reasoning that more immobile cars and financial difficulties are leading to more motive and opportunity. Indeed, catalytic converter thefts aren’t just rising in the US, but in Canada, too.

Read More: Catalytic Converter Are Worth Their Weight In Gold And Canadian Thieves Have Noticed

Catalytic converters are reasonably simple to steal and worth a lot of money. They work thanks to a combination of highly valuable precious metals, including platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which makes their scrap value high. In many cases, like SUVs and trucks, thieves can slide under vehicles and remove the converter without needing to even lift it, making the theft relatively easy.

Moreover, some repair shops have become targets for thieves. One shop in Milwaukee had to go so far as to deflate the cars in its lot’s tires to make sliding under them harder.

If you’re worried about your catalytic converter, police recommend parking in a well-lit area, welding the bracket bolts, and engraving your license plate number onto your converter to make recovery easier, should that be necessary.