More than a dozen people were charged in connection to a major catalytic converter theft ring, Miami-Dade officials announced Thursday.
The Office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a news conference to announce the 11 suspects arrested for the thefts. Two remain at large.
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The suspects were involved in a criminal racketeering enterprise that deals in the theft, sale and buying of catalytic converters.
The charges come after investigators got a tip from two people who were arrested in Broward back in May of 2023 who admitted to stealing catalytic converters from a hotel, officials said. They also told police about a warehouse in Medley, where they would sell the stolen goods for cash.
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That tip led investigators to the GMCN Scrap Metal Warehouse on Northwest 79th Terrace near Milam Dairy Road. The owner, Gerardo Julio Hernandez Rosada, is the apparent boss of this scheme, according to the state attorney.
Fernandez Rundle called this type of theft an "epidemic." The catalytic converter weighs several pounds and is typically located between the engine and the muffler. It contains valuable metals like platinum that can sell for thousands of dollars.
The activities at the Medley warehouse were surveilled over a period of time after the initial tip said it was known to cutters, or catalytic converter thieves.
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"After stealing the catalytic converter, the thief would go to GMCN Scrap Metals in Medley," Fernandez Rundle said. "The business would accept stolen catalytic converters only between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the morning, sometimes there would be a whole line of vehicles waiting outside the warehouse to sell the catalytics."
Investigators said the amount paid to the thieves depended on the type of vehicle. Thieves would get paid in cash anywhere from about $200 for a Toyota and $700 for something like a Mitsubishi.
According to the state attorney, those stolen goods were then loaded onto a tractor that headed out of state to be sold allegedly making the warehouse millions in profit.
In 2023, 26,000 catalytic converter insurance claims were filed, which was an increase of over 3,400, according to the state attorney. These claims end up costing everyone money as insurance premiums go up as a result.
