CHP Unit Targeting Cargo Theft Recovers $1 Million in Goods
Authorities on Tuesday seized more than $1 million worth of stolen goods in Baldwin Park, the biggest bust so far for a new California Highway Patrol-led cargo theft team.
A tip from Baldwin Park police officers led the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program--four CHP officers and a sheriff’s deputy--to a warehouse at 1321 Virginia Ave., where investigators discovered merchandise including olive oil, air mattresses and computers.
The stolen goods ranged from “Batman Forever” backpacks to imitation Gucci purses, CHP Officer Rhett Price said.
CHP officers are seeking five people who are believed to own the warehouse and a nearby Baldwin Park home, where the thefts were discovered.
The search began after Baldwin Park officers responded to complaints from neighbors about trucks being unloaded and loaded at all hours in the 13000 block of Monterey Avenue, Price said. Officers found a rental truck packed with unopened cartons of merchandise and contacted the CHP’s cargo theft unit, which formed in January.
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