Nearly 100,000 catalytic converters stolen in three years, data reveals
Almost 100,000 thefts of catalytic converters have been recorded in three years, with criminals across the UK stealing 75 per day in 2022, new data obtained by Sky News reveals.
The emissions devices, which often contain valuable precious metals, are worth up to £600 on the black market. It is why in the 12 months from December 2021, criminals stole 28,000 catalytic converters.
CCTV shared with Sky News from police forces and victims of this crime shows how quick and brazen thieves are, stealing catalytic converters wherever they can find them at whatever time of day.
The knock-on effects and wide-ranging impact can be devastating.
Margaret Wright from Wigan has not just had it happen to her once, but three times in two years.
The Motability vehicle she shares with her husband was left unusable for weeks when the catalytic converter was stolen in September 2022.
She told Sky News: “It sounds really extreme to say I was on the edge the last time it happened, but I really was because we don’t earn a lot of money, we don’t have a great deal of things so for somebody to come along and in a matter of minutes do that, it changes your life. It impacts so hard and mentally it’s very hard to take.”
With a disabled husband and a 50-mile round trip to work, the impact of what seems like a minor crime has been immense.
“I feel so awful for my husband more than myself because it’s his lifeline,” Mrs Wright said. “I’ve got the ability to get buses and trains but for him, he can’t get out during the day. It’s very disabling for something that was there to help his mobility, that person is now again disabled.”
Margaret Wright from Wigan has had catalytic converters stolen three times in two years
Some 97,023 catalytic converters were stolen from the beginning of 2020 to 30 November 2022, according to OPAL, the National Intelligence Unit for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime and a Sky News Freedom of Information request.
The worst affected area is London, but positive police action has seen thefts drop slightly in the capital since 2020.
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The data alone may be alarming, but it has to be taken into account that this is a crime hugely underreported and in reality there are many more catalytic converters stolen than on record – meaning many more lives deeply impacted.
But the theft is only one element of a chain of crimes involving these devices which are so sought after.
James Kelly, head of the British Metal Recycling Association, told Sky News: “Inside catalytic converters there are this set of platinum metals: rhodium, palladium and platinum and they are extremely valuable.
“They can be up to £4,000 a troy ounce which is equivalent to about 31 grams and that could equate to about six or seven catalytic converters.”
James Kelly, head of the British Metal Recycling Association
Because of their value they have become an attractive target for criminals and organised crime, it is why police forces are using covert operations to try to clamp down on the buying, selling and stealing of this car part.
Supt Mark Cleland is the UK police’s metal crime lead. He told Sky News: “Last year, in the first two weeks of an operation we reduced crime by 50% nationally. But still 30,000 offences over the last 12 months, and we need as much information about who is involved. Either the public have an idea or the waste industry has an idea.
“That information is absolutely critical to help us catch and lock up people. In another operation we recovered over 2,000 stolen catalytic converters, so we’re doing the work, we just need that critical intelligence and information to help do our jobs even better.”
Supt Mark Cleland is the UK police’s metal crime lead
Despite police efforts, the majority of catalytic converter thefts go unsolved and whilst it may be a lucrative crime for those involved, for a single mum of three whose car was targeted, the financial repercussions are crippling.
Claire Gregan had her catalytic converter stolen whilst her car was parked at university in Lancashire in November 2022.
She told Sky News: “They may as well have come in and ransacked the house because that car was my lifeline. It was a BMW 1 Series, it was 14 years old, it was worth £1,200. I don’t have much, I’m on my own with three children, putting myself through university to better our lives. And then you’re given a bill of nearly £1,000. Every way I looked for a solution, I was faced with more of a challenge financially.”
With the risk of a higher insurance premium and the chance of thieves targeting her car again, Ms Gregan scrapped the BMW and was forced to take a £4,000 loan to buy a new car.
She added: “They couldn’t have done anything worse. What they did in those few minutes, I’m probably not going to get back level with finances until summer 2023. It completely destroyed me and has left me in such a mess.”
Claire Gregan
As the crime has risen, so too has the price to replace catalytic converters. It is something the AA has noticed as callouts for this problem are increasingly common.
Patroller Sean Sidley said: “It has a huge impact on people because these catalytic converters aren’t cheap to buy from the manufacturers.
“Some customers can fork out as much as £1,500 just to get their car back on the road. I’ve seen some dealerships that are taking quite a while to get them in stock. Getting them across to the UK from Asia has been quite difficult.”
Sean Sidley, AA patroller
On the face of it, it may look like just a small offence, but these thefts are being carried out on a large scale. At every juncture of this crime, it is clear the criminals are not letting up – leaving victims helpless, vulnerable and with consequences often irreversible.
The first thing you notice when immigration officers stop a possible illegal moped delivery driver is the speed in which the suspect quickly taps on their mobile.
“We’re in their WhatsApp groups – they’ll be telling thousands now that we’re here… so our cover is blown,” the lead immigration officer tells me.
“It’s like a constant game of cat and mouse.”
Twelve Immigration Enforcement officers, part of the Home Office, are joining colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police in a crackdown on road offences and migrants working illegally.
The West of England and Wales has seen the highest number of arrests over the last year for illegal workers outside of London.
“It is a problem… we’re tackling it,” Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says. He covers all the devolved nations.
“This is just one of the operations going on around the country, every day of the week, every month of the year.”
Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says his team are attempting to tackle the issue
Just outside the Cabot Circus shopping complex, we stop a young Albanian man who arrived in the UK on the back of a truck.
He’s on an expensive and fast-looking e-bike, with a new-looking Just Eat delivery bag.
He says he just uses it for “groceries” – but the officer isn’t buying it. He’s arrested, but then bailed instantly.
We don’t know the specifics of his case, but one officer tells me this suspected offence won’t count against his asylum claim.
Such is the scale of the problem – the backlog, loopholes and the complexity of cases – that trying to keep on top of it feels impossible.
This is one of many raids happening across the UK as part of what the government says is a “blitz” targeting illegal working hotspots.
Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, joins the team for an hour at one of Bristol’s retail parks, scattered with fast food chains and, therefore, delivery bikes.
Border security and asylum minister, Angela Eagle, speaks to Sky News
She says arrests for illegal working are up over the last year by 51% from the year before, to more than 7,000.
“If we find you working, you can lose access to the hotel or the support you have [been] given under false pretences,” she said.
“We are cracking down on that abuse, and we intend to keep doing so.”
There are reports that asylum seekers can rent legitimate delivery-driver accounts within hours of arriving in the country – skipping employment legality checks.
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat all told Sky News they’re continuing to strengthen the technology they use to remove anyone working illegally.
But a new Border Security Bill, working its way through Parliament, could see companies fined £60,000 for each illegal worker discovered, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
“I had them all in to see me last week and I told them in no uncertain terms that we take a very tough line on this kind of abuse and they’ve got to change their systems so they can drive it out and off their platforms,” the minister tells me.
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The gig economy – so prevalent in every city – creates another incentive for those wanting to risk their lives coming to the UK illegally.
More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2025 – a record number at this point of the year.
For some of those who arrive, a bike and a phone provide a way to repay debts to gang masters.
There were eight arrests today in Bristol, one or two taken into custody, but it was 12 hours of hard work by a dozen immigration officers and the support of the police.
As two mopeds are pushed onto a low-loader, you can’t help but feel, despite the best intentions, that at the moment, this is a losing battle.
We see the boat from a distance – the orange of the life jackets reflected in the rising sun.
And as we draw closer, we can make out dozens of people crowded on board as it sets off from the shore, from a beach near Dunkirk.
There is no sign of any police activity on the shore, and there are no police vessels in the water.
Instead, the migrants crammed into an inflatable dinghy are being watched by us, on board a private boat, and the looming figure of the Minck, a French search and rescue ship that soon arrives.
Minck, a French search and rescue ship, shadows the boat
The dinghy meanders. It’s not heading towards Britain but rather hugging the coast.
A few of the passengers wave at us cheerfully, but then the boat starts to head back towards the shore.
Sky’s Adam Parsons at the scene
As it nears a different beach, we see a police vehicle – a dune buggy – heading down to meet it.
Normal practice is for French police officers to slice through the material of any of these small boats that end up back on shore.
Two police officers get out of the buggy and wait. A police helicopter arrives and circles above, performing a tight circle over the heads of the migrants.
The police think they might be about to go back on to the beach; in fact, these passengers know that most of them are staying put.
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The boat stops a short distance from the shore and four people jump out. As they wade towards the beach, the boat turns and starts to head back out to sea.
We see the two police officers approach these four men and have a brief conversation.
They don’t appear to check the bags they are carrying and, if they do question them about why they left the boat, it is the most cursory of conversations.
In reality, these people probably don’t speak French but they were almost certainly involved in arranging this crossing, which is against the law. But all four walk away, disappearing into the dunes at the back of the beach.
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We follow the boat as it chugs off in the direction of Britain, carrying around 50 people.
The Minck returns to shadowing its progress, but its job is limited to offering help if the boat gets into trouble.
Otherwise, if the engine keeps working, then this flimsy vessel will reach British waters in a few hours’ time.
UK
‘A constant game of cat and mouse’: Inside the police crackdown on illegal moped delivery drivers
The first thing you notice when immigration officers stop a possible illegal moped delivery driver is the speed in which the suspect quickly taps on their mobile.
“We’re in their WhatsApp groups – they’ll be telling thousands now that we’re here… so our cover is blown,” the lead immigration officer tells me.
“It’s like a constant game of cat and mouse.”
Twelve Immigration Enforcement officers, part of the Home Office, are joining colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police in a crackdown on road offences and migrants working illegally.
The West of England and Wales has seen the highest number of arrests over the last year for illegal workers outside of London.
“It is a problem… we’re tackling it,” Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says. He covers all the devolved nations.
“This is just one of the operations going on around the country, every day of the week, every month of the year.”
Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says his team are attempting to tackle the issue
Just outside the Cabot Circus shopping complex, we stop a young Albanian man who arrived in the UK on the back of a truck.
He’s on an expensive and fast-looking e-bike, with a new-looking Just Eat delivery bag.
He says he just uses it for “groceries” – but the officer isn’t buying it. He’s arrested, but then bailed instantly.
We don’t know the specifics of his case, but one officer tells me this suspected offence won’t count against his asylum claim.
Such is the scale of the problem – the backlog, loopholes and the complexity of cases – that trying to keep on top of it feels impossible.
This is one of many raids happening across the UK as part of what the government says is a “blitz” targeting illegal working hotspots.
Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, joins the team for an hour at one of Bristol’s retail parks, scattered with fast food chains and, therefore, delivery bikes.
Border security and asylum minister, Angela Eagle, speaks to Sky News
She says arrests for illegal working are up over the last year by 51% from the year before, to more than 7,000.
“If we find you working, you can lose access to the hotel or the support you have [been] given under false pretences,” she said.
“We are cracking down on that abuse, and we intend to keep doing so.”
There are reports that asylum seekers can rent legitimate delivery-driver accounts within hours of arriving in the country – skipping employment legality checks.
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat all told Sky News they’re continuing to strengthen the technology they use to remove anyone working illegally.
But a new Border Security Bill, working its way through Parliament, could see companies fined £60,000 for each illegal worker discovered, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
“I had them all in to see me last week and I told them in no uncertain terms that we take a very tough line on this kind of abuse and they’ve got to change their systems so they can drive it out and off their platforms,” the minister tells me.
Read more:
Welfare bill passes final Commons stage after another concession
Ex-Tory chairman defects to Reform
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The gig economy – so prevalent in every city – creates another incentive for those wanting to risk their lives coming to the UK illegally.
More than 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2025 – a record number at this point of the year.
For some of those who arrive, a bike and a phone provide a way to repay debts to gang masters.
There were eight arrests today in Bristol, one or two taken into custody, but it was 12 hours of hard work by a dozen immigration officers and the support of the police.
As two mopeds are pushed onto a low-loader, you can’t help but feel, despite the best intentions, that at the moment, this is a losing battle.
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