Just days ago, thieves siphoned 118 lbs. of freon out of four A/C units at Holy Family Church in Davenport. Rex Ellis, the owner of Advanced Mechanical, says freon is being stolen for a variety of reasons, including substance abuse.
"They're putting it in bags, filling a bag up, filling balloons up with it. And they're huffing it," said Ellis.
Videos posted all over the Internet show teens and young adults stealing freon from air conditioner units and using it to get high.
"It'll make you stop breathing," said Ellis. "You got some that will just burn you. You got some that has ammonia in it."
You have to be certified to handle freon, yet it's so accessible. Thieves not only huffing it, but trying to re-sell it.
"Some of them using it in their own system," Ellis said. The reason why there's such a high demand is because a widely used type of freon is not being manufactured anymore.
"If your system is six years or older it probably takes R22," said Ellis. "They quit making R22 years ago."
Wholesalers are refining old R-22 freon and selling it for anywhere from $70 to $100/lb. A residential unit can hold anywhere from 4-8 lbs. Most commercial buildings have A/C units that hold roughly 100 lbs, like Holy Family. And anyone with an air conditioner is a target.
"You can go outside any unit and it's just like taking air out of a tire," Ellis said. "You just press the little valve and it will come out."
