Thieves hit L.A. Port area; ‘terminal robbery’ becoming common

Police did not disclose contents of the trailers, but cargo thieves annually steal merchandise valued at more than $10 billion nationwide and the L.A. area is reported to be the “epicenter” of cargo theft activity.

The Trucker News Services

12/2/2010

In a type of crime that is becoming known as a “terminal robbery,” thieves Sunday night made off with three trailers, each loaded with valuable merchandise, at a depot near the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A man pretending to be a lost driver asking for directions duped a security guard into coming outside the cargo area to give him directions and the man and two others hit him the guard in the face and warned him they would use their weapons on him if he resisted.

The assailants overpowered the guard and another employee and bound and gagged them and “with military precision” opened the depot to “a small fleet” of tractors and began hooking up the loaded trailers, the news report stated.

Police did not disclose contents of the trailers, but cargo thieves annually steal merchandise valued at more than $10 billion nationwide and the L.A. area is reported to be the “epicenter” of cargo theft activity.

Earlier in the evening thieves also stole a white Mack tractor with a California license of 9E35712 and two trailers with Tennessee plates of T771784 and U054162. It’s not known if the two thefts are related.

Anyone with information should call Commercial Crimes Division, Cargo Hijack Unit at (213) 485-2507.

The Trucker staff may be contacted to comment at editor@thetrucker.com.