The Vancouver Police Anti-Fencing Unit has busted another shoplifting ring and recovered over $200,000 in stolen goods.
On Thursday, October 2nd, around 8 p.m., police executed a search warrant at a home on Fremlin Street near West 51st Avenue following an investigation into an organized retail crime group that was selling high-end stolen goods out of the address.
Police believe that organizers contracted out retail thieves, who cut a path through shops stealing high-end clothing. The items were then brought to the home where they were organized, advertised on various internet sites and sold in the underground black market operation. As many as 20 people per hour were seen coming and going from the home, many arriving in luxury vehicles to transport their stolen bargains.
Police will be requesting charges of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 against three people. Three vehicles believed to have been used to transport the stolen goods were also seized.
Thanks to a tip, police executed a search warrant on another black market operation on McKinnon Street near East 43rd Avenue on September 24th, where $100,000 worth of stolen goods were seized.
“Buyers who support these black market operations are driving up retail prices, and honest consumers are literally paying the price,” says Inspector Mike Cumberworth of the VPD General Investigation Section. “Vancouver Police have seized over 1.5 million dollars in stolen goods over the past several years, the majority of those items taken from local retailers.”
Police are encouraging the public to call the Vancouver Police Anti-Fencing Unit at (604) 717-3220 if they find an underground operation in their neighbourhood. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477 or download their mobile App at the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers website.
