L.A. County nabs plastic thieves

L.A. County nabs plastic thieves

By Jake Thomas, Resource Recycling

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Plastic Industrial Theft Task Force has recovered $450,000 worth of plastics that are alleged to have been stolen from area businesses.

On June 30, deputies with the task force served a search warrant at So Cal Plastics located in Anaheim, which is alleged to be the site were stolen trademark plastic products were being stowed and ground to make them untraceable. Some of the plastic products recovered by deputies had already been ground, while others were still intact. Additionally, equipment and machinery used to grind the allegedly stolen plastic products were seized. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the alleged theft.

"Plastic trademark products are often stolen from the loading docks behind businesses throughout Los Angeles County and the entire region," said Sergeant Nabeel Mitry, who works with the task force, in a prepared statement. "Additionally, either employees steal the plastics themselves, or leave them in a place outside the business so their crime partners can pick them up."

Most of the recovered plastics were pallets, trays, shelves, baskets and totes (collapsible crates) from grocery stores, pizza places, bakeries, restaurants, beverage companies, and shipping and receiving companies.

According to the sheriff's department, over $5 million in stolen trademark plastic has been recovered by the task force in the last year. In January, it recaptured nearly a quarter million dollars worth of material [1]. The department estimates that the loss due to the theft of the plastics in Los Angeles County could exceed $10 million a year.

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