Cargo theft on rise, despite increase in enforcement.

Despite increased law enforcement and stepped-up security at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, cargo theft continues to rise.

L.A. County Sheriff's deputies investigated 284 thefts within their jurisdiction in 2004, a nearly 20 percent increase from 238 incidents in 2003, said Sgt. Don Slawson, head of the Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team in Rancho Dominguez. The Sheriff's Department covers unincorporated parts of L.A. County, plus cities including Carson, Compton and Industry that contract for its services.

Law enforcement officials estimate more than $600 million worth of shipped goods are stolen each year throughout the region, up from $300 million in 1996. Nationally, $10 billion to $12 billion in merchandise is stolen annually.

"We have seen a significant increase in the amount of thefts that are occurring," said California Highway Patrol Sgt. John Antillon, co-supervisor of CHP's Cargo Theft Interdiction Program. "Those containers, once they leave that terminal, become very vulnerable. Most of the time (thieves) will steal almost anything and sell it."

Each theft can include millions of dollars in computer electronics, furniture or designer clothes. And because the ports are a national hub for cargo, moving nearly 40 percent of the nation's imports, more heists are occurring outside of the well-guarded port, at unsecured locations where drivers leave their rigs overnight until warehouses open in the morning.

Industrial areas in downtown L.A., Commerce, Vernon, Wilmington, San Pedro, Rancho Dominguez and the City of Industry are the main target areas for thieves. Recently, more heists have been reported in locations such as Ontario, San Bernardino and points out of state.

Among those groups involved are El Salvadoran and Cuban gangs, as well as the Mexican Mafia.

"We have seen an increase in violence used against drivers who most times don't even resist," said Antillon. "They come from a background of drugs where guns are a common tool. They get involved in cargo theft, where their risk of apprehension is much lower than with narcotics, sentencing guidelines are lower and profit is there as well."

Truckers often make an easy target, leaving their rigs parked overnight on side streets near warehouse and distribution centers, or the yards of trucking companies that don't have nighttime staff.

The trucks are easy to hotwire, and cargo holds can be opened with a crowbar, hacksaw or bolt cutter. "You come here in the morning and there are trucks parked up and down the streets waiting for the warehouses to open," said Slawson. "Those are the areas that the thieves would be targeting."

Law enforcement officials said a small percentage of the thefts occur because drivers--mostly lower-paid port haulers--accept bribes to walk away from their rigs with the keys in the ignition. Some security guards at trucking firms and warehouses have also been bought off.

The stolen merchandise ends up in low-income retail areas, swap meets or even on eBay. Law enforcement officials believe some of the merchandise is transported out of the country.

"The items of choice now appear to be clothing, food, cigarettes and electronics, more so because they are easy to get rid of," said John Wislocki, information manager for the American Trucking Association's safety and loss prevention management council.

The CHP's unit now has two sergeants and nine investigators, up from one sergeant and three investigators when it was formed in 1998. The cities of Vernon, Long Beach, San Bernardino and Ontario also lend personnel to the CHP, while the LAPD and Sheriff's Department have also directed more resources to the problem.

Some theft goes unreported, because trucking firms do not want a reputation for having allowed goods to be stolen. Some trucking firms hire private investigators to track cargo without the help of law enforcement.