CLEVELAND -- Catalytic converter theft is becoming a serious crime problem across northeast Ohio. The catalytic converter is a device in the exhaust system that removes toxic emissions.

Newschannel 5 Chief Investigator Duane Pohlman has obtained security camera footage capturing a group of local catalytic criminals in action. They pull up next to a car and use a battery-operated saw to cut through the exhaust pipes and steal the converter. The entire operation took little more than two minutes.

Some businesses have been hit particularly hard. At a Chevrolet dealership in Akron, thieves hacked off 14 converters in one month.

The reason thieves are after the converters is because inside there's a ceramic mesh coated with platinum and other metals. That metal is worth hundreds of dollars on the open market.

More and more drivers are being hit by catalytic criminals, so now Ohio is trying to do something about it. Friday night on Newschannel 5, Chief Investigator Duane Pohlman will explain what both police and lawmakers say could stop this kind of theft.