NATION'S 'HOT;' SPOT SOUTHLAND LEADS COUNTRY IN STOLEN AUTO EXPORTS.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

With two of the nation's largest ports and a U.S. border nearby, Southern California leads the nation in one line of auto exports - stolen cars that are being shipped overseas, where they fetch as much as four times what they're worth here.

Organized crime rings in Los Angeles, aided by scores of body shops, contribute heavily to an auto theft industry that adds to an annual loss of $8 billion nationwide.

About 1.2 million vehicles are stolen every year in the United States - 70,000 of them in Los Angeles County - and some 200,000 are illegally exported.

``It's like a kid in the candy store. There are so many vehicles out there to look at and to steal,'' said California Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Lee, an expert in Russian organized crime. ``The money these people are making, shipping them overseas, is phenomenal.''

In recent years, police in the San Fernando Valley have noted an increase in activity by an organized ring of Russian Armenians who have been lured from cigarette and jewelry store burglaries to auto theft. The pickings are easy in car-crazy L.A., the risk of getting caught is minimal and the penalties are lenient, officials said.

``You've got guys you could call career auto thieves,'' said CHP Sgt. John Antillon, who supervises a cargo theft team at the Port of Los Angeles.

While it is unknown how many cars are shipped out or driven over the border every year, the CHP said it intercepted nearly $8 million worth of stolen vehicles at the Port of Los Angeles in 2003, and recovered up to 5,000 stolen vehicles in Mexico.

``That amount of money makes it a lucrative endeavor for organized rings and professional operators,'' said Robert M. Bryant, president and chief executive officer of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Greg Terp, who chairs the North American Export Committee - a coalition of authorities committed to combating the global auto theft problem - said he has seen auto theft rings run by the Mafia, as well as Asian, Eurasian, Eastern European, South American, Central American and Caribbean crime groups.

``They're organized,'' he said. ``They're making a lot money out of it.''

State and national authorities are working together to break up auto- theft rings. CHP officers are now in Ukraine to train police there on auto theft detection techniques.

U.S. authorities also are using computer technology to read the license plates of vehicles passing through the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.

Investigators conduct regular inspections of chop shops, sifting through tons of metal and debris, but it's a tough fight.

``The challenge is trying to take down these organized groups and stop it before it gets overseas,'' said Sgt. Rodney Ellison of the CHP's Vehicle Theft Unit, headquartered in Sacramento. ``It's a big problem.''

Ray Unsell, a special agent with the National Insurance Crime Bureau, based in Las Vegas, said car thieves take advantage of the relatively low risk and huge payoffs. But taking down a tangled criminal organization can be frustrating.

``It is difficult to prove any actual connection because you don't have people talking,'' said Unsell, who regularly works with Los Angeles and California authorities on auto theft cases in Las Vegas.

``You have a choice in Russian organized crime - if you talk, you're dead. The people inside know what their status is.''

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) At right, policemen seize parts at West Coast Auto Parts in Sun Valley. Above, Detective Bill Robertson talks to owner Lidiya Mayatska about the parts police believe were stolen.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(3) LAPD Detective Bill Robertson documents parts police seized at West Coast Auto Parts.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(4) no caption (SUV)

Box:

BIG CASH FOR CAR PARTS

SOURCE: Los Angeles Police Department and Daily News research.

Daily News