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It’s been a tough couple of weeks for a number of truck drivers in Regina, following a recent surge in thefts.

The Saskatchewan Trucking Association (STA) said they’ve seen dozens of cases of thieves stealing catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters from semi-trucks, parts of the exhaust system.

“What we are seeing is the people doing theft are breaking into compounds where there multiple trucks parked,” said Nicole Sinclair, STA communications director.

“If you’ve got 50 trucks parked somewhere over night, they can hit all of those 50 trucks. We’ve been encouraging our member companies to focus on their security.”

Both parts help reduce pollutants in exhaust systems. The STA said the parts cost thousands of dollars and take weeks to replace.

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Sinclair said the thefts are having a significant impact on trucking companies and its drivers.

“It’s a lot of work on the company’s end to either get more trucks, rented or leased vehicles…it delays things at the shipping facility…they incur costs of storing the goods…there’s obviously customers on the other end waiting for those goods,” Sinclair explained.

“If you’re looking at fleets that haul things that are really time sensitive like groceries and food products, it’s not good for the economy and really affects everyone.”

Regina police said they are investigating the situation and have already made some arrests.

Sinclair said it’s important for STA to stay in contact with police and keep them up to date in situations like these.

“We really try to pass the message on from the trucking industry onto law enforcement so they have all the information they need to stop it from happening,” Sinclair said.

Regina police said an investigation regarding this type of theft is ongoing.