1,200-Plus Catalytic Converters Found In Storage Unit: Phoenix Police

PHOENIX, AZ — Phoenix police found more than 1,200 catalytic converters in a storage unit, most of which they believe to be stolen, police said.

Shelton Ford, 48, was arrested on suspicion of 40 counts of possession of a used catalytic converter by an unauthorized person, according to police. He was being held in Maricopa County Jail, according to jail records.

Police began investigating Ford in January after they discovered that he had an unusually large number of catalytic converters, police said.

When detectives served a search warrant for the storage unit near 3600 E. Washington St., they found the unit filled with more than 1,200 of the car parts, many with fresh cuts indicating that they had likely been cut from vehicles without the owner's knowledge.

Police believe that the converters are worth a total of around $195,000.

The catalytic converter is an exhaust emissions control device that contains three costly precious metals: platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Police departments across the country saw spikes in catalytic converter thefts across the country in 2021, the Associated Press reported.

In 2020, only 72 cases of catalytic converter thefts were reported to Phoenix police, according to The Associated Press. Last year, that number shot up to 4,700 cases.