Authorities in Ventura County have arrested four people in connection with an alleged cargo theft ring responsible for stealing more than $1.5 million in goods.
Detectives served search warrants at locations across the region – homes, storage facilities, and businesses. They found stolen cargo at every site, and the big-ticket items were guns, drugs, and cash, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Monday.
Victor Alvarez, 40, of Camarillo, Brenda Alvarez, 41, and Otto Javier Rivas, 38, of South Gate, and Mauricio Heriberto Gochicoa, 43, of Tijuana, were taken into custody and booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of auto theft, cargo theft, and conspiracy.
Arrest warrants were issued for two more men who were allegedly involved.
The arrests followed a months-long investigation into thefts that targeted industrial areas in Camarillo between December 16, 2024, and January 5, 2025. The suspects stole passenger vehicles to travel into Ventura County, then used stolen semi-trucks to haul trailers loaded with retail goods, authorities said.
On December 16, thieves stole a U-Haul from Postal Magic, according to the sheriff’s office. The next day, they were caught on surveillance casing the Harbor Freight Distribution Center.
On New Year’s Eve, they stole four semi-trucks from Custom Packaging Supply and returned to Harbor Freight, where, according to investigators, they hitched trailers filled with cargo. They also stole two pickup trucks from nearby neighborhoods. The emptied trailers were later found in the City of Commerce and near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Authorities said the suspects returned on January 5 to break into a Plush Beds trailer before transferring its contents to a box truck and fleeing.
Investigators linked the stolen goods to fencing operations in South Gate and San Diego, with the final destination believed to be Tijuana, Mexico, authorities said.
“With assistance from the CHP Border Division, investigators were able to identify additional victims of cargo theft from California and throughout the country, including major corporations such as Amazon, Craftsman, Samsung, TJ Maxx, and Converse. Investigators also located stolen cargo from an East Coast-based company, E-Lo Sportswear,” the news release stated.
The suspects were each being held on $250,000 bail.
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