14/08/2008 00:04. It used to be stereo systems. Now it's airbags.

Police are warning that airbags are becoming increasingly hot items targeted by car thieves in Ontario, with each airbag worth hundreds of dollars.

Over the weekend, 11 airbags were stolen from Honda Civics that were broken into at Olympic Honda on Woodlawn Road. Guelph Police said the airbags were professionally removed. The cost of damage and theft amounted to about $19,000.

Before the dealership can sell the cars, they must first replace the airbags, clean the cars and replace broken windows.

"It's not that rare," Staff Sergeant Scott Mills, commander of the OPP's provincial auto theft team, said of airbag theft.

Mills said stolen airbags are not hard to sell, with a ready market among unscrupulous body and repair shops.

The... // Guelph Mercury