The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) says investigators recovered a shipment of SIG Sauer firearm parts and accessories valued at about $500,000 after the load was fictitiously picked up from a warehouse in Torrance, Calif., on Oct. 12, 2026. According to the department’s Oct. 27 announcement, its Major Crimes Bureau Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team learned of the theft that day and, working with LASD’s Organized Retail Crimes Task Force, tracked the shipment to two Glendale men, Arman Mnatsakanyan, 26, and Ashot Yesayan, 23. Both were arrested that afternoon on suspicion of grand theft of cargo. LASD says the entire shipment was recovered and returned to its owner.
The sheriff’s department has not publicly described how the pickup was carried out, and it has not identified the shipper, broker or carrier involved. FreightWaves reported that investigators plan to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for a filing decision. The arrests are allegations, and both men are presumed innocent.
In a fictitious, or deceptive, pickup, someone posing as the assigned carrier or driver collects freight directly from a shipper’s or warehouse’s dock. FreightWaves, citing Overhaul data, reported that deceptive pickups accounted for 28% of cargo theft incidents in the region around Torrance, and that the 200-mile area accounted for 37% of reported U.S. incidents. In this case, the theft was reported to investigators the same day it occurred, and the full load was recovered.
Sources
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on X: announcement of SIG Sauer cargo recovery and arrests (Oct. 27, 2026)
- CBS Los Angeles: 2 Glendale men arrested for allegedly stealing $500K in gun parts (Oct. 27, 2026)
- FreightWaves: $500,000 SIG Sauer shipment stolen in fictitious pickup, two arrested in California (Oct. 29, 2026)
