The thefts of catalytic converters that suddenly spiked recently has continued, and authorities are still on the hunt for the culprit or culprits of the crimes, as well as any other valuable information that may help lead to the capture of the thieves.



According to the Eastern Iowa News Now website, the catalytic converters are being taken out of many types of vehicles in order to sell the precious metals that are found in them in trace amounts. These metals include platinum, palladium and rhodium.

The metals in the converters are bringing quite a bit of money for the thieves. This money could range anyway from $100 to thousands of dollars for just a small amount of the metals that have been found.

There have been six reports of catalytic converter thefts just this morning, but there have possibly been many more that are undiscovered and/or unreported, according to authorities in the area.

There have been very little clues thus far about the thefts that have occurred, but the investigations continue to find out any relevant information.

Insurance companies have released warnings for areas where certain vehicles in the Iowa City area have been robbed and are at risk, according to the Eastern Iowa News Now Website.

Catalytic converters are installed in vehicles to control the toxicity of emissions that come out of them. All vehicles have been built with them - including motorcycles - since 1975 as by law.

Anyone with any information regarding the thefts that have occurred is encouraged to contact the Iowa City Area Crimestoppers.