GLENDALE, Calif.—A man and a woman were arrested in connection with an investigation that recovered 13,906 stolen items from an organized retail theft ring involving nearly $200,000 worth of stolen products, the California Highway Patrol announced on Aug. 31.
The arrests were made by members of the agency’s Southern Division Organized Retail Crime Task Force, working with the Los Angeles Police Department and its newly created Los Angeles Organized Retail Crime Task Force.
On Aug. 29, investigators targeted a retail crime “fence” location that was selling stolen retail merchandise in the downtown Los Angeles area, the highway patrol officers reported. The location was not revealed.
“A ‘fence’ is an individual or group of individuals who purchase stolen retail merchandise from those who commit smash-and-grab robberies and organized retail thefts and then sells the stolen merchandise at seemingly legitimate businesses, swap meets, or online,” the highway patrol agency said in a statement.
“The buyers of the stolen merchandise may or may not be aware that the products they are purchasing were stolen as part of an organized retail crime operation,” the agency said.
“The fence location [targeted on Tuesday] was using a makeshift storefront style display to sell the stolen retail merchandise,” patrol officers said.
“Through the investigation, investigators were able to determine the merchandise was stolen with the assistance of retail loss prevention personnel,” the highway patrol agency said. “It was determined the recovered merchandise had been stolen from Victoria Secret and CVS retailers in the greater Los Angeles region. A total of 13,906 stolen items were recovered with an approximate retail loss of $198,000 to the victims.”
Authorities arrested a 47-year-old Los Angeles man and a 43-year-old Panorama City woman, the highway patrol reported. Their names were not immediately released.
Anyone with information on stolen property crimes was urged to call task force investigators at 323-644-9550.
