Masked thieves make off with several TVs in Northeast Philadelphia cargo heist

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are looking for the bandits who carried out a cargo heist in Northeast Philadelphia.

They are hoping surveillance video will help lead them to the suspects.

It happened in a parking lot along the unit block of Franklin Mills Boulevard around 3 a.m. Monday.

Police say three masked men stole TVs from inside the parked tractor-trailer and then took off in a dark SUV.

Police say thieves often target long-haul truckers who park overnight within a three-mile radius of Franklin Mall. They steal everything from electronics to seafood, like frozen snow crabs.

Last year, hundreds of thousands of dollars in dimes were stolen from a truck that had just left the mint.

"I think it's ridiculous that they're doing that -- in the tractor-trailers, right?" said Linda Borden from Northeast Philadelphia. "They're hitting the malls too, badly sometimes. I don't really wanna come up here, for real. I live up the street!"

"It's sad because people are out here trying to make an honest living and then you've got people out here doing nonsense like that," said Anthony Gary from Northeast Philadelphia.

In this latest case, the truck driver was not injured. Officials with the Motor Truck Association urge drivers not to confront thieves, but to call police.

Police also say the number of cargo thefts is down.