One early August morning last year, Riverside County sheriff's deputies arrived at the Soboba Casino vault to find $1.58 million in casino money missing and three guards bound and gagged in the largest heist in Riverside County history.

In less than 36 hours, police had three suspects behind bars and all but about $3,000 of the missing cash returned to the Soboba tribe.

For that quick-acting, gumshoe police work, the San Jacinto Valley chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized the team Wednesday with awards of excellence for nine Hemet deputies.

"It's naturally outstanding examples of what law enforcement is doing and why they should be recognized," said Jess Hardy, commander of VFW Post 12020.

Since the Aug. 7, 2007, robbery, deputies have arrested four people, including a casino security surveillance technician who is accused of orchestrating the plan.

Sheriff's officials say Rolando Luda Ramos disabled several security cameras and arranged to have another security guard escort him into the vault. Ramos is believed to have tied up and gagged three people and forced seven others into the vault while he loaded a duffle bag full of money and sprayed one casino employee with pepper spray, according to authorities.

Sheriff's deputies quickly surrounded the casino and began interviewing the 120 potential witnesses, sheriff's Sgt. David Kurylowicz said. In the first day, detectives located $700,000 and arrested two of the four suspects.

The department worked with local police throughout Southern California, and contacted the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to be on alert at the ports and borders, Kurylowicz said.

Ramos was found inside a hotel room near Los Angeles International Airport wearing a wig, with $800,000 and an emergency passport. He has since been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial and is awaiting further proceedings.

"This went down to good old-fashioned police work," Kurylowicz said. "The investigators put together the pieces of the puzzle and it came together very quickly."

Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@PE.com