Moment masked thieves jack up Honda Jazz in street in broad daylight and steal its catalytic converter in just ONE MINUTE
- Masked thieves are caught on camera stealing catalytic converter in daylight
- They jack up silver Honda Jazz before one dives underneath to rip out device
- The theft happened in Prestwich, Greater Manchester at 2pm on November 26
This is the moment masked thieves shamelessly jack up a Honda Jazz in the street in broad daylight and steal its catalytic converter in just one minute.
The hooded trio had their faces covered as they targeted a silver Honda Jazz that was parked near some shops in Prestwich just before 2pm last Thursday.
CCTV footage of the brazen theft shows one thug jacking up the car while two others kept watch for the owner.
An elderly woman emerges from around the corner and gets into her car, which is parked next to the Honda Jazz.
She looks suspiciously at the men who are wearing Covid facemasks to hide their identities but the thieves ignore her and shamelessly carry on
One crawls underneath the car to unscrew the catalytic converter and has it removed in under a minute.
The pinch the car part – wanted for their precious metals parts – and hop into their getaway car waiting behind them.
CCTV footage captures masked thieves shamelessly jacking up a Honda Jazz in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, in broad daylight on November 26
One local called Naomi said: ‘It was outside a shop. The car was parked in the shop’s bay.
‘I also heard they targeted a car one street further away.’
Others spoke of their disgust, with Richard Bingham calling the thieves ‘scum of the earth.’
Catalytic converter thefts are becoming a huge crime problem in the UK as they contain valuable metal parts – rodium, paladium and platinum.
Criminals can sell the exhaust devices on for £200 or more to scrap metal dealers or online.
One crawls underneath the car and steals the catalytic converter (circled) in just one minute. These thefts are becoming a huge crime problem in the UK as the exhaust devices contain valuable metal parts that can be sold for hundreds of pounds
There were 13,000 catalytic converter thefts in the country last year, compared to just 2,000 in 2018.
Hybrid cars, like the Honda Jazz, are often preyed on as they have a higher concentration of the metals and are generally less corroded.
Admiral Insurance says data shows the four most susceptible hybrid models are the Honda Jazz, Toyota Prius, Toyota Auris and Lexus RX of all generations and ages.
The catalytic converter is part of a car’s exhaust system and works to convert the toxic gases your motor produces into less harmful substances to be emitted.
Greater Manchester Police has been contacted for comment.