Thieves pull million-dollar cargo heist

LOS ANGELES Surveillance video of one of the suspects entering a warehouse facility is now posted on the LAPD Web site. Police say the man and an accomplice loaded more than $1 million worth of merchandise from three separate warehouse locations onto a tractor-trailer with stolen plates. The suspects remain at large.

"We know that he's responsible for taking three loads: The first one is out of Baldwin Park, the second one is out of Inglewood, and the third one is in Harbor Gateway," said LAPD Detective Yvette Moreno.

The exact locations targeted are not being released in order to prevent owners from being victimized a second time.

Last Monday the suspects got away with a load of Samsung TVs, vitamin supplements and women's clothing. Detectives are also looking for the tractor-trailer used to haul the items. The trailer was reported stolen from Ontario and has the numbers "411772" marked across the rear exterior doors.

Police say once a getaway plan was devised, the man seen in the surveillance video used fake identification to gain access into each warehouse.

"He was able to obtain a fraudulent driver's license and put his picture on that license," said Moreno. "He also obtained some paperwork commonly used in the trucking industry, called 'T-checks,' and he was able to take that same information and present it to each one of the logistic companies in order to obtain the loads."

Police say finding cargo-theft suspects is made difficult by their constant interstate travel. Police plan to release additional video to help identify at least one of two suspects. Both men are described as African American, 5' 8" to 5' 10" in height, weighing approximately 250 pounds.

If you have any information about the suspects or the cargo thefts, you're asked to call Los Angeles Police at 877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).

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