The California Highway Patrol has taken two suspects into custody in connection with a sizable organized retail fraud enterprise that has recently affected many businesses around Los Angeles County.
California Highway Patrol has taken two suspects into custody in connection with a sizable organized retail fraud enterprise (Photo: Flickr)
California Highway Patrol, The Suspects, A Man and A Woman In Their 40s
According to the California Highway Patrol, the suspects, a man and a woman in their 40s, were apprehended after it was discovered via investigation that they were part of an organized burglary organization that involved nearly $200,000 worth of stolen items. Officers of the CHP and Los Angeles Police Department took part in the investigation as a part of the freshly formed Los Angeles Organized Retail Crime Task Force.
The captures occurred on Tuesday after California Highway Patrol and investigators focused on an undisclosed “fence” place in central Los Angeles where counterfeit products were being sold.
According to the CHP statement, a “fence” is a person or group of people who buy stolen retail goods from people who carry out smash-and-grab robberies and organized retail thefts, and then they resell the stolen goods at establishments that seem legitimate, at swap meetings, or online. The purchasers of stolen goods may or may not be aware that the items they are buying were stolen as part of a coordinated retail crime operation of the California Highway Patrol.
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California Highway Patrol: More Than 13,000 Products, Mostly from CVS and Victoria’s Secret Stores
More than 13,000 products, mostly from CVS and Victoria’s Secret stores, with a combined worth of $198,000 were recovered by the California Highway Patrol, according to CHP. Although the suspects’ identification has not yet been made public, both are said to reside in Panorama City.
Perhaps not everyone involved has been caught yet, claimed the CHP Ofc. I’m Chris Baldonado. “So it’s a constantly ongoing investigation. As you know, numerous instances of these smash-and-grabs are happening through L.A. County, if not within the entire state and country, therefore we’re attempting to see if there are any associations among a lot of these. It may be one consolidated incident, and it may be a link to different ones.”
According to California Highway Patrol, the Southland has seen an increase in the frequency of retail thefts committed by sizable gangs that target certain establishments or particular malls that sell high-end goods.
