A Monster Crime: $40,000 Worth Of Energy Drinks Stolen

CORONA (CBSLA.com) — They're a hot commodity in convenience stores, and someone decided Monster energy drinks were worth the risk of a big-rig heist.

Someone stole a big rig full of the beverages from a lot on Sherborn Street in Corona earlier this week in a sophisticated operation.

"You can't just hop in this truck and drive it. You have to know how to drive the truck," said Dennis Cole, the truck's owner.

Cole says pallets of Monster energy drinks were loaded into the truck Monday. When he went to retrieve the truck Tuesday morning, it was gone.

"They came and got the truck and they already had another truck sitting somewhere," Cole said. "Because they hurried up and ditched this truck, hooked the trailer onto that one. They had to go to another place where they could get to another trailer and off-load it, and then ditch the trailer."

Corona police found the big rig in Jurupa Valley on Tuesday night. The trailer was recovered in Fontana. None of the stolen beverages have been found.

"I'm a small company. It took 31 years to build this company," said Cole. "When something like this happens, everything goes on hold; we don't get to haul our loads."