Suffolk police are searching for a thief or thieves who made off with five catalytic converters from a Carolina Road body shop.

The parts were cut from vehicles located inside a fenced area at the shop, city spokeswoman Debbie George said.

An employee at Clark’s Body Shop discovered the theft Tuesday morning, when he went to retrieve a vehicle he was going to be working on. After discovering its catalytic converter was gone, other vehicles were checked, and four more catalytic converters were missing.

“There appeared to be an area of the fence that had been tampered with,” George said.

Catalytic converters are popular items for thieves because they contain precious metals, which can include platinum, palladium and rhodium. Platinum currently is going for about $1,500 per ounce, George said.

Each converter contains only a small amount of metal, but “If you steal several converters, of course, that adds up,” George said.

There is no surveillance video available in the crime.

Anyone who has information is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers to Crime Line never have to give their names or appear in court, and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.