LOS ANGELES, CA – The owner of a Whittier shoe warehouse was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property after a search recovered about $1 million in merchandise taken from Union Pacific and BNSF freight shipments, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Detectives from the LAPD Commercial Crimes Division’s Cargo Theft Task Force served a search warrant at Shoes n Shoes, 12565 Slauson Ave., on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The department announced the case Oct. 6 in a news release.
The owner, Waseem Saman, 45, of Placentia, was booked at Van Nuys Jail. Police said the recovered goods filled 59 pallets.
An arrest is not a conviction, and the allegations remain subject to the criminal court process.
Search warrant served at Whittier business
Police said detectives served the warrant at the shoe business on Wednesday, Sept. 30, about a week before the department publicly announced the case.
Saman was contacted and arrested during the search, according to initial reports. He was then booked at Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of receiving stolen property.
The Cargo Theft Task Force is part of the LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division. The warrant was served as a multi-agency operation that included railroad, port and prosecutor investigators.
Goods recovered from 59 pallets
Police said the merchandise recovered at the business was worth about $1 million. It filled 59 pallets.
The LAPD said the goods had been stolen from freight shipments on the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway.
The recovered items included Yeti cups and jugs and Nike, New Balance, Brooks and Sanuk shoes. Detectives also recovered JanSport backpacks and Shark vacuums.
Police have not said when or where along the rail lines the freight was taken.
Owner said he bought from brokers
Police said Saman admitted buying much of his inventory from brokers or middlemen who are not legitimate distributors of the brands.
That statement comes from the police account of the investigation. It is not a court finding, and Saman’s own account of the case has not been made public.
The suspicion of receiving stolen property is the only allegation police have announced against him.
Rail and port police joined task force
Several agencies took part in the operation. Police said they included Union Pacific Railroad Police, BNSF Police, Alameda Belt Line Police and Los Angeles Port Police. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation also took part.
The LAPD called the collaboration important for combating large-scale cargo theft.
Cargo theft a statewide enforcement focus
The California Highway Patrol runs its own Cargo Theft Interdiction Program. The CHP says the program “was created to combat the ever increasing cargo theft problem.”
According to the CHP, the program was established in 1994 through Assembly Bill 813. The agency names Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego as the four regions most affected by cargo theft in California.
The state has also reported results from its retail theft enforcement funding. According to the Governor’s Office, local law enforcement arrested 29,060 suspects in organized retail theft cases over two years. More than $226 million in stolen property was recovered in that time.
The same state page cites an LAPD recovery of $4.5 million in stolen cargo and rail goods as a notable cargo theft operation. That is a separate case from the Whittier search.
Tips go to LAPD and Crime Stoppers
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the LAPD Commercial Crimes Division at (213) 486-8766. Tips can also go to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
No charges announced as of Oct. 7
As of Oct. 7, no District Attorney’s Office charging announcement about Saman had been made public. The investigation remains active.
