Thieves steal four 100-lb drums of palladium, a metal worth more than gold, SC cops say
The river leading to a chemical warehouse is lined with swamp and farmland, home to alligators and without much in sight other than marsh and Lowcounty forest.
Masked thieves caught on surveillance video came up from the river onto the chemical company’s property outside of Georgetown, South Carolina, just after midnight July 13, according to police. They made their way to the warehouse and stole four 100-pound drums of palladium, a police report says.
The heist netted about $300,000 worth of the precious metal that costs more per ounce than gold, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
The break-in at 3V Sigma USA, also known as 3V Chemical, was reported July 18, five days later, according to the report.
The report does not say how the thieves got the 100-pound drums of metal down to the river, or how they made their getaway.
Palladium, an element on the Periodic Table, is most used in catalytic converters for cars, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. It’s found in laptops and cellphones and is used for jewelry and in some dental fillings, the RSC said.
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Thieves steal four 100-lb drums of palladium, a metal worth more than gold, SC cops say."
