WEST PARK, Fla. – Two South Florida businesses were recently targeted by crooks, but it wasn’t cash the criminals were after.
Surveillance cameras from over the weekend capture the pair using a jack to raise a truck as one of the men starts to cut away a catalytic converter.
The act was then repeated several more times.
Greg Jackson owns a neighboring business: Tycoon Party Rental. He too has been hit as he said the thieves stole the crucial car part from his entire fleet.
“I keep getting hit. Every time I replace it, I keep getting hit and keep getting hit,” Jackson said. “Hopefully we can get some justice, man, and we can get our company back rolling, because right now, we can’t do as many deliveries as we want because we don’t have the amount of vans that we had because they’ve taken all the converters out of there.”
The getaway car used by the thieves is spotted on the same footage, but the damage has been left behind.
The car part that controls vehicle emissions is made up of precious metals like platinum and rhodium which sell on scrap yards for several hundred dollars.
At times, it’s more than the price of gold.
Replacing the crucial car parts can run into the thousands of dollars for some vehicles, which can be quite the hit on small business owners.
“This is costing me money. These converters are not cheap, so I can only get one van or one truck fixed at a time,” said Jackson.
Anyone with information is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.