Hardware stores were a front for large cargo theft ring, police say

The owner of two DJ General Tool & Wire locations faces hefty charges.

- BY CLARA HARTER

Los Angeles Police Department THE STOLEN goods included power tools, appliances, e-bikes and various name-brand items, police said.

They may have looked like innocuous hardware stores from the outside, but inside these two L.A. County storefronts was an estimated $4.5 million worth of goods stolen from trains, trucks and cargo ships, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

On Wednesday, Police Chief Jim McDonnell announced that the department had busted a massive cargo theft ring operating out of DJ General Tool & Wire's Montebello and Huntington Park locations. The stolen goods included power tools, e-bikes and appliances from brands including Dyson, Milwaukee, De-Walt and Makita, police said.

The business' owner, 41-year-old Dojoon Park of Montebello, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, and the L.A. County district attorney's office intends to file hefty charges.