Investigators from the sheriff's Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team (Cargo Cats), Major Crimes Bureau, with the assistance of investigators assigned to the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program (C-TIP), began an investigation after the theft.

The investigation led detectives to a warehouse on Thursday, January 6th, located on the 4000 block Fruitland Avenue in the city of Vernon. While there, investigators observed numerous men loading several pallets of Aurora brand paper shredders into the rear of a bob-tail truck. Investigators detained all of the men and discovered that the shredders were those stolen from the city of Torrance.

During a search of the building, sheriff's Cargo Cats investigators discovered stolen property taken in three additional and separate cargo thefts.

Recovered were two loads of Aurora brand paper shredders, a load of infant products stolen from a business in the city of Compton, a load of clothing stolen from a business in the city of Vernon, and a load of miscellaneous clothing items stolen from the Inland Empire.

The entire recovery had an estimated value of $690,000.00.

All six suspects were arrested and charged with receiving known stolen property. They were transported to and booked at East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station. The six suspects are Hispanic men from the Los Angeles area and included: Marlon Vasquez, 49; Julian Virgen, 33; Guadalupe Lopez, 32; Noe Diaz, 43; Jose Ulloa, 38; and Jose Ramos, 68.

The case was filed in East Los Angeles Court on Monday, January 10th, and all six suspects were held over for preliminary hearing on charges of Receiving Stolen Property. Their next court date is January 31, 2011. Bail for each suspect was set at $225,000.00.

C-TIP is a multi-jurisdictional police cargo theft task force, that includes numerous agencies. On the date of these arrests, peace officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Port Police, and the Vernon Police Department participated.

The Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team (Cargo Cats) is a unit of the Major Crimes Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

For more information about Cargo Cats, visit:

http://www.cargocats.us/

http://www.lasdhq.org/sites/YIR/2004/visuals/1819.pdf

In January 1990, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department started a new cargo theft investigative unit named Cargo CATs, the Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team. Cargo CATs is assigned to the Major Crimes Bureau of the Sheriff’s Department’s Detective Division, which oversees the team to ensure the maximum utilization of resources.

The proactive approach the Department has taken in the past with multi jurisdictional programs to impact the transient career criminal is the same approach that is now being applied to the ever increasing cargo theft problem throughout Los Angeles County and Southern California. The success demonstrated by Cargo CATs has proven that the surveillance and investigative abilities of a multi jurisdictional team exceed that of any single agency.

Program Objectives

-Increase arrest, prosecution and conviction of cargo thieves and their receivers.
-Establish a close working relationship with the cargo, transportation, warehousing, and insurance industries.
-Recover and return stolen cargo to the owners.
-Reduce cargo theft property crimes.
-Reduce court costs and time by gathering quality evidence to ensure guilty pleas.
-Develop intelligence information about the stolen cargo redistribution system.
-Act as a resource for cargo theft prevention information.
-Establish a statistical reporting system to accurately reflect the cargo theft situation.
-Enhance coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as cooperation and coordination between prosecutors, law enforcement, and victims.
-Support the enactment of mandatory cargo theft reporting laws, along with development of a statewide cargo theft database

Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org