$1 million stolen train cargo of tennis shoes and backpacks recovered in Chatsworth

Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department's Cargo Theft Task Force recovered $1 million in stolen train cargo at a San Fernando Valley business linked to online sales of the goods.

On Oct. 21, LAPD task force detectives, along with Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF) Police and several other agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, served a search warrant at the 21000 block of Nordhoff Street.

The warrant was triggered by an eBay sale of allegedly stolen, limited-edition runDisney x Brooks shoes.

The transaction led detectives to DesignerDeals4Less in Chatsworth, where $1 million in BNSF Railroad train property was discovered, including Brooks, Hoka, New Balance, Adidas, ON, Salomon, and JanSport shoes, as well as JanSport backpacks, totaling 35 pallets of cargo.  

Detectives contacted the business owner, who admitted to purchasing the stolen train property from illegitimate distributors of the brands.

The owner, 51-year-old Heros Tasci from Simi Valley, was booked at Van Nuys Jail for receiving stolen property.