PORTLAND — Police in suburban Portland said Thursday they arrested a crime ring leader responsible for trafficking more than 44,000 catalytic converters stolen from vehicles on the West Coast since 2021.
Detectives said they identified Brennan Doyle, 32, as the leader of the operation and searched his Lake Oswego home last week, along with seven other properties. The detectives seized over 3,000 catalytic converters hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a high-end car and jewelry, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Doyle and his associates are accused of stealing catalytic converters from vehicles along the West Coast, Beaverton police spokesperson Matt Henderson said. The crime ring was centered around Portland, but spanned multiple Oregon counties as well as Washington state, Nevada, California, Texas and New York, he said.
The metals inside catalytic converters can sell for thousands of dollars per ounce. The street value of the parts stolen and trafficked was estimated to be over $22 million.