Tarzana : Gunmen Bind Worker, Steal Computer Chips

Three well-dressed gunmen stole about $400,000 worth of computer memory chips and modules from a Tarzana computer company Thursday night after forcing an employee to open the storage area, then tying him up, police said.

At about 8:40 p.m., a gunman wearing a sport coat confronted the employee after he closed up Enhance Memory Products Inc. in the 18700 block of Oxnard Street, said Det. Jon Anderson of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley station.

Two other men, one in a tan suit and the other in a black sport coat, then drove up in a gray minivan and ordered the employee into the van, Anderson said.

The three drove the employee around to the back of the business, forced him to open the warehouse, then began questioning him about computer chips and modules, the detective said.

“They were specific about what they were looking for,” Anderson said.

Computer memory chips store information and are placed on platforms called modules for installation in a PC. “They’re worth quite a bit of money,” Anderson said. “Their resale is fairly lucrative in the black market. These companies are being attacked with some frequency.”

The robbers taped and tied the employee to a chair and gagged him with duct tape, police said.

The gunmen spent almost two hours inside the warehouse, using hammers and grinders to cut locks on a storage area where the equipment was kept, police said. Detectives said the robbers also took the employee’s wallet.

The employee was not injured during the robbery, and no suspects have not been apprehended, police said.

The case is under investigation.