Thieves have been hacking parts off cars to sell for scrap in and around the borough of Seven Springs in Somerset and Fayette counties, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI.

State police spokesman Steven Limani told WPXI about 30 catalytic converters have been stolen off of area vehicles in the past few weeks.

Catalytic converters, which are located between the engine and muffler of almost all modern cars, filter harmful emissions that would otherwise pollute the air.

They contain precious metals like palladium, platinum and rhodium — which makes them valuable targets for thieves who sell them for scrap.

“They’re causing hundreds and hundreds of dollars of damage to maybe get $100,” Limani told WPXI. “Those catalytic converters are expensive.”

Thieves can use a saw to cut a catalytic converter from under a car in seconds. Repairs can cost hundreds of dollars.

State police do not have any leads in the Seven Springs theft spree, according to WPXI. They’ve alerted local scrap yards to be on the lookout for suspicious sellers.

The New York Times this month reported that catalytic converter thefts have been rampant across the country over the last year, driven by a dramatic price increase prices of the metals inside.

The price of palladium hit $2,875 an ounce last year, up from $500 five years ago. Rhodium saw an even more dramatic surge, hitting a high of $21,900 this year, up from $640 five years ago.

Western Pennsylvania has seen this problem before. There was a rash of catalytic converter thefts in Armstrong County in 2013, and in the Murrysville area in 2015.

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