Are the prison forces of the underground pushing on the boundaries of acceptability? Chances are you’ll suppose so after studying that the crew of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile awoke on the morning of Friday, February 10, to find that their catalytic converter was gone.

The 27-foot-long (8.2 meter) novelty truck was in Las Vegas for a collection of appearances supposed to happen on Tremendous Bowl weekend, stories 8 Information Now. Whereas parked on the Sonesta Suites, scoundrels—black-hearted dastards!—made off with the exhaust element underneath cowl of evening.

Normally it’s the criminals who’ve aliases, however as but extra proof that the world has gone topsy-turvy, the subsequent morning, the Wienermobile crew, who go by Corn Canine Clara and “Chad”dar Cheese, went out to start out their day. Their plans have been lower quick, although, as a result of they couldn’t get the car began.

Learn: Multimillion-Greenback Catalytic Converter Theft Operation Thwarted By US Regulation Enforcement

The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile wound up being towed to a Penske store the place Joseph Rodriguez, the elements administrator for the situation, stated he was fairly stunned to discover a wiener among the many vans he works on.

“A scorching canine truck, no manner,” Rodriguez stated. “Think about like an enormous scorching canine in the course of your bay. There’s all these different vans and also you set to work on this.”

Happily, though the store didn’t have the substitute half and estimates steered that it might take months to order in, mechanics have been capable of finding a catalytic converter that was an in depth sufficient match to Jerry rig it into place quickly, and get the Wienermobile again on the highway.

Though their fast pondering saved the day on this case, it’s simply the most recent, and most food-shaped, instance of such a criminal offense occurring. As has been well-reported, thefts of catalytic converters elevated sharply via the pandemic because the values of the uncommon metals utilized in them skyrocketed.

Though the issue didn’t floor the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile for too lengthy, repairs like these are costly and tough to finish, in keeping with Rodriguez.

“There’s gaskets there that it is advisable reseal the converter, after which there’s sensors all alongside that space to manage the warmth and temperature of the system,” he stated. “These are all gone as properly. They tear that aside to get to what they need.”

Sadly, the rascals behind this crime have but to be recognized by police.