Los Angeles police have recovered approximately $1 million worth of suspected stolen railroad merchandise after following an online listing for shoes advertised on eBay. A search of a business in the San Fernando Valley on October 21 uncovered 35 pallets of goods linked to BNSF Railway, including athletic footwear and backpacks. The business owner was arrested following the discovery.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced the recovery on October 26, identifying the business as DesignerDeals4Less. Located in the 21000 block of Nordhoff Street in Chatsworth, the retailer was found to hold products from Brooks, Hoka, New Balance, Adidas, ON, Salomon and JanSport.
The case comes after a separate operation earlier in October in which authorities recovered approximately $1 million in railroad cargo at a shoe retailer in Whittier.
An eBay transaction puts investigators on the trail
The investigation started when detectives found Brooks/Disney collaboration shoes advertised for sale on eBay that they suspected had been stolen. They arranged a controlled purchase, allowing them to establish a link to DesignerDeals4Less and subsequently obtain a search warrant for the premises.
The October 21 search revealed the scale of the operation, with 35 pallets of railroad merchandise recovered from the business.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the products found in Chatsworth are connected to other recent theft investigations involving BNSF freight trains in California.
In August, deputies recovered more than $123,000 in Brooks footwear after an abandoned van led them to merchandise taken during a BNSF boxcar burglary near Ludlow, California.
Two days later, another investigation following a separate BNSF boxcar burglary near Daggett, California, resulted in the recovery of more than $150,000 in New Balance shoes.
Investigators have not established any connection between either of those incidents and the merchandise recovered in Los Angeles.
Questions remain over online marketplace records
The case also raises questions about how stolen merchandise enters the resale market and what information online platforms can provide to law enforcement.
Under eBay’s stolen property policy, sellers are prohibited from listing goods obtained through theft. The company also operates a process through which law enforcement agencies can request records as part of criminal investigations.
Separately, the federal INFORM Consumers Act requires online marketplaces to collect and verify identifying information for qualifying high-volume sellers.
However, the LAPD has not disclosed whether eBay supplied records during this investigation or whether the federal law’s verification requirements played any role in identifying DesignerDeals4Less.
Business owner arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property
During the execution of the search warrant on October 21, detectives contacted the business owner, who, according to the LAPD, acknowledged buying stolen railroad merchandise through unauthorized distribution sources.
Police identified the individual as Heros Tasci, 51, of Simi Valley, California. He was arrested and transported to Van Nuys Jail.
Authorities booked Tasci under Section 496(a) of the California Penal Code, which addresses receiving stolen property. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The department has not announced any additional arrests in connection with the investigation, nor has it publicly identified the distributors allegedly responsible for supplying the merchandise.
Railroads, other law enforcement agencies assist in investigation
The operation was coordinated by the LAPD Commercial Crimes Division’s Cargo Theft Task Force and multiple law enforcement partners. Participating agencies were BNSF Police, Union Pacific Railroad Police and Alameda Belt Line Police.
Los Angeles World Airport Police and Los Angeles Port Police also helped. The operation was assisted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Investigation of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
The recovery comes after another BNSF-related case in Colton, Calif., where police recovered about $54,000 in stolen Hot Wheels merchandise following a freight train burglary. Read more about the shooting in Colton.
BNSF also touted its ongoing cooperation with law enforcement agencies in fighting cargo theft.
It is not known where the stolen goods originated
But there are still a few critical details that are unknown. The LAPD has not said when or where the goods were originally stolen from BNSF trains, and investigators have not publicly identified who is responsible for the thefts.
Nor have police provided details on how many shipments were involved in the recovered inventory or how the products made their way to DesignerDeals4Less.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives are appealing for information that may help establish the source of the goods and identify further people involved.
Anyone with information can call the LAPD Commercial Crimes Division at (213) 486-8766. Call during regular business hours (6 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Anonymous tips can also be placed with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Why it matters
The recovery illustrates how merchandise that is allegedly stolen from rail freight can make its way back into commercial resale channels, potentially reaching retailers via unauthorized suppliers. In this case, investigators were led to suspected stolen shoes at a business that had a much larger inventory through an online listing and a controlled purchase.
The investigation also highlights the necessity of cooperation between police departments, railroad security teams, and other agencies in the fight against cargo theft. It’s a big step in the recovery, but the case remains unsolved in terms of where the original thefts occurred, the supply chain and who distributed the merchandise.”
