2 arrested for stealing thousands of credit, ID, social security cards in Highland

HIGHLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- Two people were arrested in Highland Tuesday after authorities pulled over a stolen vehicle and found thousands of stolen credit, identification and social security cards hidden in the trunk.

Police said an automated license plate reader alerted officers to a stolen car being driven down Baseline Street in the city. Authorities arrested the pair driving the car and then found the bags filled with cards.

"Every day deputies come across people in possession of stolen credit cards or stolen ID's, but to come across someone who has this amount shows that they're very sophisticated in what they're doing," Highland Police Detective Don Patton said.

Detectives said the suspects would use an embossing machine to flatten out the name of the person on the credit card and then replace it with their name.

Last February, Liberty Tax Services was broken into and thousands of income tax documents were stolen. Authorities said some of those documents were also found with the two suspects.

As for the pair, identified as Norra Mokhtar and Ted Olivas, they were out because of Gov. Jerry Brown's early release program.

The investigation into the stolen items is ongoing. Authorities are not sure how long the two suspects have been stealing the cards.