A suspect has been arrested following a monthslong investigation into the theft of $600,000 worth of container chassis at the Port of Los Angeles.
Officers with the Los Angeles Port Police Criminal Investigation Section and the Los Angeles Police Department Commercial Crimes Unit arrested a suspect during a probe that led to a facility in Gardena, California, where 24 likely stolen chassis were recovered, the port said in a release.
The identity of the suspect, a male in his 20s, was not immediately disclosed. His first court appearance is scheduled for March, the port police told FreightWaves in an email. The investigation is ongoing and others are suspected of being involved.
The investigation, which spanned “many months,” focused on suspected criminals who entered container terminals and removed chassis set aside for commercial truckers hauling cargo. Chassis numbers would then be painted over, vehicle identification numbers swapped out, stencils used to repaint new numbers and other identifiers, and the chassis resold as new.
The owners of the chassis whose equipment was stolen were contacted during the investigation.
The revenue from the crime ring was estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
“The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest port in the United States, so stopping this theft was important for everyone involved,” said Los Angeles Port Police Lt. Rosario Ferrara, in the release. “Our investigation into these activities continues to evolve, but we hope this arrest sends a message to other criminals targeting the Port complex.”
The port police comprises more than 3,000 officers and civilian personnel policing 7,500 acres along 43 miles of waterfront.
This article was updated Jan. 7 with more police information.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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