SAN JOSE -- Thieves have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment from at least 18 Silicon Valley high-tech firms this year and show no signs of slowing down.

The thieves are targeting chips, flash memory cards and electronic devices, say persons familiar with the crimes.

Police have identified a silver minivan with a skull and crossbones in the back license plate area as a common vehicle in many of the robberies. In many instances, a woman distracts delivery workers by asking for directions. 

On Wednesday, a delivery truck at Viva Computers in Fremont was robbed of CPUs and hard drives valued at $13,000. Other firms recently targeted have been Bell Microproducts in San Jose, which has been hit several times, and Advanced Micro Devices. Last Friday, Ampro Systems in Fremont was robbed of about $200,000 in flash memory cards.

The San Jose Mercury News quoted an employee at one of the South Bay companies that has been repeatedly robbed as saying, "Our trucks get hit at stoplights in broad daylight. These guys are so smart, armed with the latest communications technology, that this problem continues unabated.''

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