An organized retail theft operation in Los Angeles was busted on Wednesday, and investigators recovered an estimated $300,000 in stolen merchandise, authorities said.
The raids unfolded at several locations near MacArthur Park in the city’s Westlake neighborhood, the LAPD’s Rampart Division said on social media.
"This was part of a three-pronged operation focusing on the flash mob thieves, street vendors selling the stolen property, and receivers of the stolen property," police said.
LAPD Capt. Jay Roberts told FOX11 Los Angeles that at least four suspects were arrested in connection to the raids.
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The recovered merchandise included dozens of boxes of diapers, cases of energy drinks, computers, cosmetics and other items stolen from big box stores.
"We were stunned," Roberts told KCAL-TV. "The amount of stuff we took out of the store didn't look like it could actually fit in the store. Some of it was in crawl spaces, rafters, hidden areas — it was packed with stolen stuff."
Los Angeles is ranked highest among U.S. cities that are impacted by organized retail theft, according to a National Retail Federation report released in late October.
Earlier that same month, California gave the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department a $15.6 million grant as part of a statewide effort to help combat organized retail theft.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has said that his department’s robbery task force has made 254 arrests and recovered nearly $600,000 in stolen merchandise within the first three months of the task force’s creation, FOX11 reported.
