The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has arrested five individuals believed to be the masterminds behind a massive theft of 337 bicycles valued at $1.7 million from Utah-based ARI Bikes.
The suspects, identified as Samvel Karapetyan (38), Vazgen Avagyan (36), Narek Badalyan (32), Vladimir Gyulankaryan (32), and Davit Grigoryan (40), allegedly orchestrated the crime by redirecting truck drivers and using box trucks and passenger vehicles to transport the stolen cargo.
On April 21, the group executed the theft en route to Los Angeles County. Since then, sheriff’s investigators served multiple search warrants at several locations tied to separate investigations and successfully recovered 288 of the stolen bicycles.
All five suspects were arrested on May 7 in the City of Industry and have been released on $100,000 bonds.
Captain Calvin Mah of the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau praised the work of the Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team, which specializes in combating retail and cargo theft. He encouraged community members to report any information related to such crimes to assist ongoing investigations.
