A catalytic converter on one of the BGC Central Vancouver Island buses was stolen on Friday, Aug. 20, but quickly tracked down thanks to employees in Chase River. (submitted photo/BGC CVI)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

SENSELESS ACT

Prolific offender caught in the act of catalytic converter theft

Aug 27, 2021 | 10:12 AM

NANAIMO — Astute observations and a stroke of luck are primarily responsible for catching a man, well-known to police, red-handed.

In the early morning hours of Friday, Aug. 20, a catalytic converter was stolen from a BGC Central Vancouver Island van on Cranberry Ave. in Chase River, making it unsafe for use by the club in its programming with young children.

Cst. Gary O’Brien said security camera footage caught an image of the person believed responsible, but it was an employee at BGC who happened to look out a window and see a man on a bike who resembled the image, carrying a converter.

“At a very safe distance they followed this person, called the RCMP and gave live updates,” O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Our members were on scene within minutes and after a little bit of a foot chase, they caught the individual who is well-known to them.”

The man was arrested along Extension Rd., with the converter around 10:30 a.m., about an hour and a half after the theft was first noticed.

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Police didn’t have an explanation as to why he remained so close to the scene of the crime.

O’Brien said the man had a knife on him, which was a breach of a previous probation order.

The employee who initially spotted the man on the bike, took the van and the converter to a mechanic later in the day and it was verified the item came from the same vehicle.

“It’s a North America-wide problem because they contain rare elements that are extremely valuable when taken to salvage yards,” O’Brien added. “Until such time they start changing the components of these catalytic converters, thieves will continue targeting these vehicles.”

BGC is on the hook for around $500 in repairs to get their van roadworthy again.

A 30-year-old man is facing charges of possession of stolen property, theft under $5,000, obstruction and breach of probation.

He was released from police custody while officers continue their investigation into his recent and prior indiscretions.

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