Nine people were arrested and $200,000 in stolen merchandise and cash were recovered during an investigation into a criminal retail theft organization in Southern California, authorities announced Friday.
For months, investigators have been looking into an organization known as the South American Theft Group, which has been targeting popular retailers throughout the state since March 2021, California Highway Patrol officials said in a news release.
The suspects would allegedly steal hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and then ship them internationally, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office.
On Monday, a CHP task force dedicated to retail crime investigations served multiple search and arrest warrants throughout the Southland.
They ended up finding about $62,000 in cash and $135,000 worth of stolen merchandise from stores like Macy’s, Columbia Sportswear, Abercrombie & Fitch, J.C. Penney and Lululemon, authorities said.
Photos shared by CHP show piles of jeans trousers, shorts and polo shirts that were recovered, all with the tags still on.
One of the images also shows stacks of cash that officers seized while serving the warrants.
Officers arrested Los Angeles residents Diego Soler, 31, Jesus Baron, 34, Monica Jimenez Moreno, 28, and Elkin Rico Ruiz, 22, on suspicion of conspiracy, organized retail theft, grand theft and receiving stolen property.
Two other L.A. men, 44-year-old Luis Salcedo and 28-year-old Kevin Ramirez-Banol, and Hawthorne residents 22-year-old Christian Perez and 21-year-old Juan Samiento, were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property.
Leobardo Leony, 58, of Bloomington, was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy, organized retail theft and receiving stolen property.
Authorities said the investigation remains active, and additional arrests are possible.
The state’s Attorney General announced felony charges against the alleged members of the organized retail theft ring.
“Organized retail theft hurts businesses, employees, and the public — and this criminal activity will not be tolerated in California,” Bonta said in a statement.
The Attorney General’s Office said California has seen “a pattern of organized retail crime.”
The office cited a national survey from 2020 which found that U.S. retailers lose about $700,000 per every $1 billion in sales to organized retail crime.
In recent months, several smash-and-grab style robberies have made headlines, including a recent incident in Beverly Hills.