Brazen gang filmed using power saw to steal engine parts in seconds

Precious metals: a thief jacks up the Toyota Prius in Leytonstone as an accomplice acts as lookout with a pole in hand
Ataul Chowdhury
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Brazen criminals were caught on camera using a power hacksaw to steal a car’s catalytic convertor for its precious metals — as new figures show thefts soared by 750 per cent in a year.

An onlooker filmed on his mobile as three men pulled up in a blue Ford Focus. They parked in the middle of the road with the boot open.

One thief, wearing a white baseball cap and carrying a pole, acted as lookout, while an accomplice cut away at the catalytic converter under a silver Toyota Prius, propped up by a jack. Seconds later, he emerged with the exhaust in his hand and threw it into the Ford Focus’s boot.

A third man remained in the car throughout and when the others jumped back inside, he drove away at speed down Wragby Road, Leytonstone, turning right into Chichester Road.

Scotland Yard was handed the video from April 15 and is investigating. Detectives believe the incident has links to similar crimes. Mayor Sadiq Khan released figures showing the number of catalytic converter thefts in the capital recorded by the Met rose from 174 in 2017 to 1,484 last year.

The first man then dives under the car and removes the converter
Ataul Chowdhury

Around 900 have been stolen in the 10-month period since July 2018, the police said separately. Catalytic converters are easy to steal and have no identifying features that scrap dealers can check to establish if they are stolen.

Thefts dramatically increase when the price of precious metals inside the component — including platinum, palladium and rhodium — are high. The metals can be stripped out and resold for hundreds or thousands of pounds. Rhodium can command up to £2,000 an ounce, double the value of gold.

Palladium and platinum trade at 70 to 80 per cent of the value of gold.

The converter is loaded into a waiting Ford
Ataul Chowdhury

Ataul Chowdhury, the victim of the Leytonstone theft, which took place at 1.30pm, only realised the catalytic converter had been stolen when he went to pick his son up from school two hours later.

Bus driver Mr Chowdhury, 45, said: “I started the car and there was an awful sound when I drove away. My neighbour ran outside and shouted: ‘Don’t drive, come back! It’s not safe’. He showed me the video shot from his bedroom window. It was incredible to think they carried this out in broad daylight. They have no fear.”

He could not afford to pay £1,500 for a new converter, which is part of the exhaust system, or claim on his insurance because he has a £500 excess.

  • Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT