Lowest of Low: Thieves Strike at Two Bossier Churches in 30 Days

Get our free mobile app

Stealing from the hard working people of the Shreveport-Bossier City area is bad enough, but now low-down dirty thieves are staling parts off of God's vehicles.

According to a report from KTBS, crooks who don't mind ticking off the man upstairs have started targeting vehicles belonging to area churches. In the last month, 2 ministries have reported that criminals have stolen catalytic converters from vehicles in church parking lots - a church bus donated to Bossier Parish ministry Men of Courage and another bus belonging to Open Road Fellowship in Haughton were both relieved of the easy to steal and valuable part leaving both vehicles illegal to drive.

Thieves frequently target catalytic converters on their mark's vehicle because they're a snap to steal and filled with valuable metals.  Rhodium, palladium and platinum are all found in the parts.  According to a report from Yahoo:

Palladium is currently trading near an all-time high of $3,000 per ounce and rhodium is trading at $28,000 per ounce

Platinum is the least valuable among the 3. Right now, it's only going for $970.00 per ounce.  Waste Advantage reports that the average vehicle's catalytic converter contains around  "3-7 grams of platinum, 2-7 grams of palladium, and 1-2 grams of rhodium."  That means that if thieves can snag a handful of these parts - they can sell them for tens of thousands of dollars.  Someone who knows what they are doing with the right tools can reportedly remove a catalytic converter in a matter of minutes.

If you saw something suspicious, know someone who has a mysterious pile of catalytic converters in their yard, or have any information on the crooks who decided to steal from the man upstairs - please, contact the Bossier Crime Stoppers right away.