LAPD detectives searched Shoes n Shoes, a shoe retailer in Whittier, California, on Sept. 30. Inside the business, investigators discovered 59 pallets loaded with merchandise from a range of well-known consumer brands. The operation also resulted in the arrest of the store’s owner, Waseem Saman.
According to LAPD, the recovered goods included footwear from Nike, New Balance, Brooks and Sanuk, along with Yeti cups and jugs, JanSport backpacks and Shark vacuums. The merchandise represented several consumer categories, including shoes and apparel, drinkware, luggage and household appliances.
Search of Whittier retailer results in arrest
The discovery was made as detectives from LAPD’s Cargo Theft Task Force executed a search warrant at the Whittier business.
During the operation, investigators spoke with Saman, a 45-year-old resident of Placentia. Police said he acknowledged purchasing a significant portion of his inventory from brokers or middlemen.
LAPD described those suppliers as illegitimate distributors dealing in merchandise from the brands identified in the investigation.
Saman was subsequently booked at Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of receiving stolen property. LAPD identified the alleged offense under California Penal Code 496(a), which covers receiving stolen property. The department’s Oct. 6 announcement listed booking number 7331207.
Authorities have not identified the brokers or middlemen involved in the purchases. The investigation remains active.
BNSF and Union Pacific investigators assist LAPD
The recovery involved cooperation between several agencies and organizations involved in rail and cargo security.
Investigators from both Union Pacific and BNSF participated in the operation. Personnel from Alameda Belt Line also assisted, along with Los Angeles Port Police. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation provided additional support.
LAPD said cooperation between law enforcement and transportation-related investigators is an important part of efforts to tackle organized and large-scale cargo theft.
The department has not disclosed how the merchandise was originally removed from BNSF or Union Pacific control. Its announcement did not specify when the individual thefts occurred, where the shipments originated or where they were ultimately supposed to be delivered.
Authorities also did not provide individual values for the recovered loads or identify the brokers and intermediaries believed to have supplied the merchandise to the retailer.
Detectives with LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division are continuing to investigate and have asked anyone with relevant information to come forward.
Recovered freight highlights the wider cargo theft challenge
The case demonstrates that stolen freight does not simply disappear from the supply chain, but can continue to circulate long after the original theft.
The merchandise was allegedly funneled through commercial channels from rail cargo this time and eventually was found at a retail business in the Los Angeles area. The recovery demonstrates how stolen goods can travel far beyond their original route of transport before being identified by investigators.
The case is a reminder to rail operators, law enforcement agencies and cargo owners about the importance of working collaboratively across the supply chain when tracing stolen freight and identifying the networks complicit in its resale.
