A suspect faces charges after Nanaimo RCMP recovered a catalytic converter stolen from a van owned by BGC, formerly known as the Nanaimo Boys and Girls Club.
It wasn’t the first time one of the devices - part of an exhaust system that converts pollutants into less-toxic substances - had been stolen from the group. The latest theft caused the cancellation of several outings and cost BCG $500 in repairs.
BGC employees reported at 6:30 a.m. Aug. 20 that the catalytic converter had been sawn from one of their vans, rendering it useless. A suspect could be seen on the group’s video-surveillance system.
Later that day, manager Linda Janes looked out the window at the Cranberry Avenue site and saw a man, who looked like the person in the video, riding a bike and carrying a catalytic converter.
Janes and another employee followed the man in a vehicle at a safe distance and called police, who arrested the suspect. A mechanic confirmed that the catalytic converter came from the BGC van.
