Over $1 million worth of merchandise was recovered after authorities deemed it was connected to a retail theft operation in Oakland, Calif., according to a Twitter post on Thursday from the Dublin Police Department.
According to the post, a theft worth $1,500 was reported at an Ulta Beauty store in Dublin, Calif., which led to a search warrant for a fence operation in Oakland. The bust, which also recovered an AR-15 ghost gun, was conducted with assistance from California Highway Patrol (CHP) Organized Retail Crime Unit, the post said.
$1,500 theft from the Ulta Beauty Store lead to a search warrant at a fence operation in Oakland. With assisance from CHP Organized Retail Crime Unit over $1 million in merch was recovered as well as an AR-15 ghost gun. @CHP_HQ pic.twitter.com/HbgUdrm6Zi
— Dublin Police (@DublinCAPolice) February 16, 2023
Several pairs of Nike and Jordan sneakers were recovered along with clothing items from brands like Lacoste and Ralph Lauren, bags and fragrances. No arrests were reported in the post.
This recovery follows another recent retail crime operation, which led to the arrest of eight people allegedly targeting Apple stores throughout California and stealing about $1 million in merchandise.
At a press conference on Feb. 9, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the charges against the eight men include conspiracy to commit retail theft, organized retail theft, organized retail theft, grand theft and theft in the amount over $500,000. The charges also carried an aggravated white collar enhancement, Bonta said.
The alleged conduct occurred between August 2022 and January 2023 across Yolo, Monterey, Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Riverside counties, and involves an organized criminal scheme in which suspects would enter stores and hold back employees and customers while stealing retail items, including thousands of dollars of phones and tablets from each location.
“Organized retail theft costs businesses, retailers and consumers — and puts the public at risk,” said Bonta in a statement at the time. “Brazen criminal activity, such as the organized retail theft operation we have taken down today, will not be tolerated in California.”
California has been leading the way in cracking down on organized retail crime ever since it reached a fever pitch during the pandemic.
In December, California’s 66th District Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi introduced a new bill that would amend the state’s current Proposition 47 law, which was approved by electors on Nov. 4, 2014, that would hopefully further deter potential criminals from stealing.
In the new proposed bill, dubbed AB23, Muratsuchi seeks to reduce the threshold amount for petty theft and shoplifting from $950 to $400. The bill would have to be approved by voters.
To combat the issue on a national scale, the U.S. House of Representatives last month passed the Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) Consumers Act, which works to help inform consumers about this illicit activity and helps law enforcement target criminals who sell high volumes of stolen merchandise on e-commerce marketplaces. The act is currently awaiting approval in the Senate.
The National Retail Federation’s 2022 National Retail Security Survey found that retail shrink, when taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2021, accounted for $94.5 billion in losses in 2021.
