LAPD Detectives Investigate Stolen Cargo NR11137cj

UPDATE
April 19, 2011

The stolen cargo has been identified as Sephora® products being sold on Ebay® and at three perfume shops located in downtown Los Angeles, Huntington Park and the City of Commerce.  Anyone who may have purchased these products is asked to contact LAPD to assist with the investigation.  Sephora® is offering a reward for the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for this crime.

Los Angeles:  LAPD Commercial Crimes Division detectives are investigating a cargo theft case that occurred in Utah.  The stolen product was being stored and sold in the Los Angeles area.

In mid-March 2011, LAPD detectives from the Commercial Crimes Division’s Commercial Auto Theft Section (CATS) Cargo Unit were notified by a cosmetics company that a container load worth $4 million was stolen in Utah in mid-February 2011.  The load was bound for Washington state.  The company lost two previous loads, one in 2009 and another in 2010.  The company’s loss prevention detail traced the stolen 2011 product to Los Angeles and CATS detectives took over the investigation.  Several possible locations were identified and surveillance evidence was gathered.  

On March 24, 2011, detectives observed material being loaded into a delivery truck from a large warehouse in South Gate.  Fearing evidence may be lost, detectives went into the open warehouse business and saw what appeared to be the stolen product.  After obtaining consent from the business, detectives searched the area.  Employees of the company confirmed the product as the items stolen in February 2011.  The detective immediately secured the location and detained eight employees.

Further investigation revealed four additional locations containing stolen product from the company: 9th and Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park and East Washington Boulevard in the City of Commerce.  Stolen product was recovered from all four locations, totaling approximately $2 million.  

No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Commercial Crimes Division Cargo Hijack Unit Detective Zavala at 213-847-3787.  During non-business hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.  Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) using a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.”  Tipsters can also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.