CAMARILLO : Rig, Load Worth $200,000 Stolen

A tractor-trailer rig loaded with computer parts worth $200,776 was stolen from a Camarillo business, authorities said Tuesday.

The theft was the third such crime in as many months, leading authorities to believe that a ring operating out of Los Angeles is repeatedly striking in the Ventura County area.

“Not just anybody can take a truck and trailer and disappear,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Lazz said.

“This requires some organization obviously.”

The truck driver dropped off his tractor trailer at 3M Office Systems Division in the 600 block of Pancho Road so it could be loaded with merchandise, Lazz said.

When he returned Monday at about 4 a.m. to continue his trip, the driver discovered that the trailer had been disconnected from the tractor, which was gone.

Thieves apparently believed that the trailer was empty because it contained some empty boxes and left it behind.

However, they connected the tractor to another trailer that contained computer parts, such as discs, Lazz said.

In March, 1,500 cases of shampoo in two trailers were stolen from the Clairol Inc. plant in Camarillo.

Four hundred cases were discovered in a Baldwin Park warehouse, and five people were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

Earlier this month, a tractor-trailer rig loaded with $120,000 worth of vitamins and health food was stolen from a Camarillo motel parking lot.