FORREST CITY, Ark. —  The Forrest City Water Department is the latest to get hit by thieves sometime over the weekend. 

The discovery came early Monday when three water department vehicles were targeted.

“The catalytic converters were stolen off of them this morning,” said Forrest City Mayor Cedric Williams.

Catalytic converters, the gold, or in this case, the metal that thieves are after. They hit when no one is around and get away undetected.

It’s not the first time. Last June the mayor says 12 vehicles, which is almost the entire water fleet, were hit at a cost of about $20,000.

“There were a couple of our heavy duty vehicles that had a significant cost, approximately about $5,000 each. With our smaller vehicles they were about between $1,200 and $1,500 each,”Mayor Williams said.

WREG has been reporting on the growing catalytic converter thefts right here in Memphis, with more than 50 cases in North East Memphis.

Mechanics tell us how easy it is for thieves to get the part right from under trucks and SUVs, which sit higher off the ground.

The parts can then be sold for 40 or 50 bucks and even more for the metal.

At least one suspect was caught on camera. Forrest City hopes cameras will help in their case.

Since May of 2020 Forrest City’s Mayor says they have been 17 separate incidents at businesses across the City, 41 catalytic converters have been stolen and only one person arrested.

“Police are looking into  the matter. We will go back and review some of the camera footage,” Mayor Williams said.

They hope to catch the thieves as the city re-shuffles vehicles for the work that still has to be done .