Operation Heavy Metal

During the summer of 2021, the Mesa Police Department and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office conducted an undercover operation to combat the surge in catalytic converter thefts in the City of Mesa. The operation involved undercover officers purchasing used and stolen catalytic converters from several suspects. Officers also sold catalytic converters to a suspect who bought them believing they were stolen.

In total, six suspects were identified with three arrested for a variety of criminal charges. The other three suspects have charges pending. The suspect who purchased the catalytic converters from undercover officers was also charged with commercial burglary at an auto recycler in Mesa. In this burglary, 141 catalytic converters were stolen with a value of over $40,000. This burglary also caused over $50,000 of damage to the property of the victim.

The Mesa Police Department is working diligently to combat the rising number of catalytic converter thefts in the city. This is a growing trend in the state and the City of Mesa is no exception. The following is statistical information on catalytic converter thefts in the City of Mesa from 2018 to present.

·         There were 2 stolen catalytic converter cases in 2018

 

·         There was 1 stolen catalytic converter case in 2019

 

·         There were 69 stolen catalytic converters cases in 2020

 

·         There have been 431 catalytic converter cases through 09/19/2021

In addition to this undercover operation, the Mesa Police Department also assisted in a catalytic converter marking event on September 13^th and 14^th where tips were given to the community on how to prevent the theft of their catalytic converter. Citizens had their catalytic converters etched to track and prevent theft of the catalytic converter in the future. Over 250 vehicles were able to have this process completed over a two-day period.

The Mesa Police Department is committed to working with our community partners to combat this issue.