The Brief
- Law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles are warning of increased cargo thefts, affecting companies like R & R Transport Service and Ari Bikes.
- R & R Transport Service has been hit three times in two weeks, with thieves stealing trailers from their lot, while Ari Bikes lost a $1.7 million shipment.
- The LAPD recently seized nearly $4 million in stolen cargo and arrested two members of the South American Theft Group.
Law enforcement agencies across the Los Angeles area are warning of an increase in cargo thefts. One shipping company recently hit by thieves is R & R Transport Service, based in Fontana, California.
“I contacted you guys because we’ve been hit three times in the span of two weeks,” said Raul Agredano, part-owner of R & R. “It’s getting out of hand, and it’s something every day you hear more and more about. It’s crazy.”
Agredano shared surveillance video with FOX 11 of thieves breaking into their storage lot. Thieves can be seen driving their own cabs into the lot, hooking up, and driving off with full trailers.
“They just come in our yard, check all the trailers, break seals [and] even locks to see what’s in there,” said Rolando Beltran, part-owner of R & R. “If they like something, they just take the trailer.”
So far, the company’s part-owners have been able to track down all the trailers stolen from their lot. In one case, they even managed to get an arrest. However, their concern with this rising crime is legitimate.
“We haul anywhere from 100 to 250 thousand dollars of cargo every single day,” said Agredano. “With 30 trucks a day, it’s scary.”
A luxury bicycle business out of Utah, Ari Bikes, has fallen victim to the recent cargo theft trend.
“The semi-truck full of our bikes, 337 of them, went missing,” said Tyler Cloward from Ari.
Their $1.7 million shipment arrived from Asia to the Port of Los Angeles, went to a warehouse in the L.A. area, but never made it to Utah.
“The driver that showed up to the warehouse to pick it up, he arrived with what appeared to be legitimate documents, license, [and] everything,” said Cloward. “The bikes were unfortunately unloaded somewhere and moved quick.”
Earlier this week, FOX 11 reported a nearly $4 million cargo theft seizure by LAPD. In that case, police say they arrested two prominent members of the South American Theft Group.
According to the owners at R & R, they’ve significantly increased security on their lot to protect shipments.
As for the missing $1.7 million shipment of Ari Bikes, that case remains open.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released the following statement in response to the cargo thefts:
“At this time, the investigation remains ongoing and is being handled by the Major Crimes Bureau’s Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team (CCATS) which is dedicated to targeting and apprehending high profile cargo criminals.
The mission of the Cargo CATs is to reduce cargo theft crimes by apprehending and prosecuting both cargo thieves and their receivers and by returning stolen property to their rightful owners. The mission involves enhancing coordination and cooperation among local, state, federal law enforcement agencies and representatives from the private sector.
If anyone has information about this case, please contact the MCB Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team
[email protected]
, or 562-347-1261″
