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According to LA County Sheriff Investigators, five men stripped off hundreds of bike thefts and snatched them in a carefully organized scheme while the bikes were passing from distributors to LA County.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Cargo Detective Anxiety Team said the truck driver was redirected and used to transport the stolen cargo to the standby warehouse.
The bike was recovered and tied to another investigation that began on April 21 when Utah Alibike reported theft of 337 bicycles, about $1.7 million, to Sheriff’s Compton Station.
Working with the bike community and ARI, detectives have identified multiple suspects and warehouse locations suspected of stolen goods.
Two multi-location search warrants were provided. The detectives discovered 288 stolen bicycles along with other stolen items. Five suspects have been taken into custody, and investigators continue to investigate “direct involvement in the theft of the ARI bike,” sheriff’s officials said.
The person in custody was identified as 38-year-old Samvel Karapetyan. Vazgen Avagyan 36; Narek Badarian, 32; Vladimir Gurankarian, 32; Davit Grigolian, 40.
Detectives say they have diverted valuable goods coming and going to Southern California in recent years to observe the growing sophistication of intercepting criminals.
“The thieves are breaking into the trailer and getting into the electronic distribution system,” Sheriff Captain Calvin Mah told The Times.
Computers, high-end drugs and other expensive products have become key targets for cargo theft that can win millions of dollars.
Last month, Los Angeles police recovered nearly $4 million in stolen cargo in cases that included South American crime rings that plundered coffee, tequila, shoes, body wash, pet food and Bitcoin mining computers from tractor trailers and elsewhere.
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