COMPTON >> California Highway Patrol officials announced Wednesday they have broken up three Los Angeles County-based motorcycle theft rings, including one in Long Beach.

The alleged rings, also in Santa Fe Springs and the San Fernando Valley, focused on stealing sport bikes and parts.

The investigation, known as Operation Wheel Spin, resulted in 51 arrests, and the recovery of 110 stolen motorcycles and 29 parts, according to officials from the CHP.

“These parts are worth almost $1 million in property value,” said Dan Bower, CHP Southern Division Chief. “Vehicle theft is an increasing problem in California.”

After CHP investigators went undercover, they discovered the stolen parts were being sold online to locations out of state and out of the country, Bower said.

“Some of these players were involved in other crimes like robbery, larceny, burglary, fraud and identity theft,” Bower said.

The arrests have resulted in other investigations that reach into other counties, including San Bernardino County, and Las Vegas, Nev., he said.

Lt. Charlie Sampson, one of the lead CHP investigators on the case, said Operation Wheel Spin was initiated through social media. The stolen motorcycles and parts were often sold through eBay, Craigslist, Facebook and other social media sites, he said.

“The market is everywhere,” Sampson said. “The plastic of the bike is not serialized. Typically they sell for about $2,500 per bike. They can sell it through social media for $500.”

Shoppers looking for spare motorcycle parts should be weary of deals that look “too good to be true,” he said.

“These bikes are specifically targeted,” Sampson said. “Yamahas, Suzukis, they sell fast and easy.”

Long Beach police assisted in the CHP investigation and uncovered a ring of 13 people involved in motorcycle thefts and other crimes in the Long Beach area, said Cpl. Joe Starbird of the Auto Theft Detail.

“We discovered that they were part of a larger group involved in residential burglary, identity theft, commercial burglary and other crimes,” Starbird said. “They were all meth and heroin addicts that committed crimes to pay for their habits.”

Police turned over the names and known addresses of the 13 Long Beach motorcycle theft suspects to the CHP.

Starbird did not have statistics available on Wednesday, but he said the arrest of the 13 Long Beach area suspects has resulted in a decline in motorcycle and auto thefts.

After a slight decrease in 2011, vehicle thefts in 2012 jumped 11 percent across Los Angeles County, Bower said. This year alone, the county has experienced almost 33,000 auto thefts, a quarter of the whole state’s total.

Bower said motorcycle and car owners should be vigilant during the holiday season. People can be distracted and leave presents and goods in the car, providing potential thieves with an incentive to rob.

Starbird recommended locking up a motorcycle with a “heavy locking system” to an immobile object, parking in a secure garage or installing LoJack or some other GPS tracking system.

If someone believes that the CHP may have recovered their stolen motorcycle or parts, they are encouraged to contact the CHP Southern Division’s Investigative Services Unit at 323-644-9550 and ask to speak to an officer.

Contact Greg Yee at 562-499-1476.