California Highway Patrol
A nine-month investigation into a Riverside County-based criminal enterprise has culminated in raids across Southern California, leading to six arrests, the recovery of stolen vehicles worth more than $1.25 million, and the seizure of firearms and narcotics.
The Riverside Auto Theft Interdiction Detail (RAID) task force, commanded by the California Highway Patrol, began investigating the group known as Long Beach Performance in December 2024. According to investigators, the enterprise operated across Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Orange counties, engaging in large-scale vehicle theft, alteration of Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs), fraudulent DMV paperwork, sales of stolen vehicles, and trafficking of drugs and guns.
On Aug. 26, RAID investigators partnered with the California Highway Patrols Inland and Southern Divisions, the Long Beach and Riverside Police Departments, the Anaheim Police Department, the San Bernardino County Auto Theft and Gang Task Forces, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Insurance, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau to execute 12 simultaneous search warrants at residences and businesses tied to the organization…