5 Held in L.A., New York in Theft of Truckload of Sunglasses

After a cross-country investigation, Irvine police said Friday that they have arrested five suspects in Los Angeles and New York in the theft of a truckload of Oakley Inc. sunglasses.

Working in conjunction with investigators in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, Irvine police made the arrests in late February. Police also recovered about 13,000 pairs of Oakley’s trendy sunglasses, which retail for $30 or more per pair.

Oakley officials on Friday declined to comment on the arrests or the theft that took place in the predawn hours of Jan. 25, when thieves towed away a cargo trailer filled with about 30,000 pairs of sunglasses from Oakley’s Irvine headquarters.

Irvine police officials said the theft indicated a larger crime ring.

“We think there is more than just this one incident,” said Sgt. Phil Povey. “The way the product was stolen and the speed with which it was moved indicates that we’re dealing with a well-organized and coordinated effort on the part of the thieves.”

Unlike the recent rash of computer chip thefts in California, where thieves target companies with the help of an insider, police suspect that the Oakley heist was conducted through random searches of cargo trailers.

“When they find them, they drive them away,” Povey said. “When they get to where they’re going, they open them up and find out what’s inside. Then they decide if they want it or not.”

Irvine police got their first break in the case Feb. 18, when Oakley officials reported that a vendor at the Orange County Fairgrounds swap meet was selling stolen sunglasses.

“When we took that guy down, he said he bought them from a guy in the San Fernando Valley,” Povey said. “When we took that guy down he said he bought them from a place in New York City.”

Police in New York arrested Wang Gyu Yim, 26, and Hyang Suk Chon, 29. Police subsequently arrested three more men in Los Angeles. Hyuk Kwon, 35, Randy Kang, 31, and Yong Jang, 33, also were charged with receiving stolen property.