Two Arrested After $500,000 SIG Sauer Shipment Stolen in Fictitious Pickup

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives recovered roughly $500,000 in stolen SIG Sauer firearm parts and accessories and arrested two Glendale men in connection with a fictitious warehouse pickup in Torrance, California. The department announced the arrests and recovery on October 27. Every item of the stolen merchandise was returned to its owner.

The shipment contained firearm parts and accessories from SIG Sauer, a major manufacturer supplying civilian, law enforcement and military markets. Investigators received the first report of the theft on October 12. The incident involved a warehouse near the 4200 block of West 190th Street in Torrance. Detectives from the department's Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team (CCATS), a specialized unit inside the Major Crimes Bureau, handled the case.

Who was arrested?

Authorities arrested Arman Mnatsakanyan, 26, and Ashot Yesayan, 23, both Glendale residents, on October 12. Booking records confirm both arrests occurred that afternoon. Deputies booked the men on suspicion of grand theft cargo. Investigators plan to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration. Both men are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Why did this happen in Torrance?

Torrance sits inside one of the nation's most active cargo theft regions. An Overhaul report on Southern California cargo theft trends found the surrounding 200-mile area accounted for 37% of reported U.S. incidents. Nearly 70% of regional thefts occurred within 50 miles of the city. Deceptive pickups represented 28% of cases in the region.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Division Chief Jose G. Mendoza highlighted the recovery, noting that "hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen gun parts were taken off the streets." CCATS works alongside other specialized units targeting organized theft. LASD established its Organized Retail Crimes Task Force in September 2023, which includes cargo investigators and the Burglary and Robbery Task Force, collaborating with local agencies, regional task forces and federal partners.

What is still unknown?

Plenty. The sheriff's department has not explained how the fictitious pickup occurred or identified the transportation provider involved. The announcement omitted details about shipping documents, equipment and the recovery location. Investigators have not disclosed how they tracked the merchandise. FreightWaves contacted the department and SIG Sauer for additional information; neither responded by publication time.

How does this fit the broader fraud pattern?

Other California investigations show the same playbook. Montclair police investigated approximately $70,000 in stolen beer shipments pulled from an Anheuser-Busch distribution center using fraudulent pickup documents, with discrepancies identified in the trucking company, driver and vehicles. In a separate case, a Los Angeles jury convicted two defendants in a $2 million nationwide cargo theft scheme built on purchased trucking companies — established motor carriers used to secure legitimate shipments across multiple states.

The commercial lesson for shippers and warehouse operators is straightforward. Fictitious pickups work because warehouses release valuable freight without confirming the authorized transportation provider. Once custody changes hands at the dock, the ability to control who holds the shipment disappears. Verifying carrier identity, driver credentials and pickup authorization before release is the only reliable defense.

With deceptive pickups making up more than a quarter of Southern California cargo theft cases and the region driving over a third of U.S. incidents, load-tender verification is likely to stay at the top of shippers' fraud-prevention agendas.