Police Raid Nets $4 Million Worth of Stolen Goods : Crime: Authorities search two Chula Vista warehouses stuffed with property. They are still trying to determine the extent of the theft ring and trace its participants.

An estimated $4 million in stolen property--from water desalination machines to crates of Scotch whiskey--has been recovered from two Chula Vista warehouses used by a massive theft ring, authorities said Wednesday.

San Diego and Chula Vista police searched the warehouses at an office park in the 600 block of Anita Street late Tuesday night, culminating a two-month investigation.

In one of the warehouses, police found crates of computers, clothing, carpeting, glassware, tile, medical equipment, televisions, lamps, toys, bags of rice and beans, and an expensive brand of Scotch, San Diego Police Sgt. Bill Campbell said.

In a building next door, they discovered desalination machines worth $3 million, Campbell said. According to documents found at the scene, the machines were intended for an oil rig off Hong Kong in the South China Sea, Campbell said. The machines were stolen in the last month from a flatbed truck in Kearny Mesa, he said.

Authorities detained several men working in the warehouses but released them after questioning, Campbell said. No arrests were made.

The ring operated in the last two months, with the thieves stealing or hijacking tractor-trailer rigs and then using the trucks for burglaries at targeted stores and warehouses, Campbell said.

During the ring’s two months of operation, at least 10 tractor-trailer rigs were stolen, Campbell said.

A truck was still parked behind one of the warehouses when police raided it Tuesday night.

Most of the loot was stolen from businesses in San Diego County and the Los Angeles area and was intended for delivery either in Mexico or throughout Southern California, he said.

“I’m sure this operation’s got connections in Mexico, as well as L.A.,” Campbell said.

Authorities did not want to wait for the operation to continue in hopes of arresting those involved, Campbell said, because of its rapid turnover of stolen merchandise.

The warehouses were leased June 1, and authorities said they believe the owner of the buildings knew of the illegal activities being conducted, Campbell said.

Often in such operations, warehouses are used for only a few weeks before the ringleaders move, Campbell said.

Using information gathered at the scene, investigators are attempting to determine the extent of the ring and trace its participants.

“It appears we have a long way to go,” Campbell said.

With documentation for the loot still on hand at the warehouses, authorities spent Wednesday connecting stolen items with trucking companies or businesses. Except for a few rolls of carpeting, boxes of glassware and soft drinks, officials had cleared out one warehouse.

Some of the boxed and crated goods came from such businesses as Price Club, Figi Graphics, Office Club and K mart.