Officials find up to $7 million in stolen products during raid at Torrance warehouse, LAPD says

The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday seized millions of dollars’ worth of stolen merchandise believed to be Nike sneakers during a raid of a warehouse in Torrance, officials said.

Police Capt. Alfonso Lopez of the LAPD’s commercial crimes division said the merchandise was linked to several cargo trucks that had been stolen from a facility near the Port of Los Angeles. He said the cargo truck thefts occurred over a certain period of time but would not disclose further details because he said it would impede in their investigation.

Lopez said thieves made off with merchandise from at least nine cargo trucks. Investigators from various law enforcement agencies tracked the stolen merchandise to a warehouse in Torrance, where a search warrant was served Wednesday evening.

Lopez said investigators recovered stolen products from six of the nine containers. He said the value of the merchandise ranged from $4 million to $7 million.

Citing police sources, KCBS-TV Channel 2 said the boxes recovered at the warehouse contained Nike sneakers. Lopez would not confirm what the stolen merchandise was.

Shoe and apparel heists are a multimillion-dollar problem for Nike.

In April of last year, Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives arrested a suspect, Julian Gutierrez, in connection with a robbery at a Nike store in East Los Angeles, as well as multiple “grab and go� retail thefts.

Gutierrez was found with several thousand dollars’ worth of new clothing, with tags and security devices still attached, in his vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Losses from the Nike store were estimated at more than $150,000.

In September, thieves in Memphis, Tenn., broke into a Nike distribution center and stole about $800,000 worth of sneakers and apparel, according to authorities.

Earlier this year, the popular sports shoe company temporarily closed its retail store in Portland, Ore., because of thefts there.

A Nike spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.