$400,000 worth of stolen goods recovered from Westlake store in retail theft bust

WESTLAKE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than $400,000 worth of stolen merchandise was discovered during a raid at two stores in the Westlake District as part of another major retail theft bust by Los Angeles police.

Detectives on Wednesday discovered the stash of goods in the attic of one of the stores on Sixth Street near MacArthur Park, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
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Officers had to call in a semi-truck to haul out dozens of boxes from the businesses.

Authorities say one of the stores was a one-stop shop for stolen goods, much of it taken in one of the numerous smash-and-grab robberies and retail thefts.

"A 75-inch television from Target, smaller TVs from a Target store, cosmetics from Sephora, pallets of energy drinks and pallets of diapers and sundries," said Capt. Jay Roberts.

The raids were the latest efforts by the LAPD's Rampart Division to crack down on retail crime by targeting those selling the stolen goods.



Detectives say the stores knowingly bought fenced merchandise for roughly 20 cents on the dollar, and then turned around and re-sold it for more. Investigators are trying to curb the cycle of retail crime.
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"The people that steal stuff cannot have an outlet to sell the stolen goods. Hopefully that slows things down," said Lt. Michael Ling.

"Whether you're shoplifting or selling it, or receiving it and selling it again, we're paying attention and we're coming your way," Roberts added.

Three people were arrested in the raids and authorities say more arrests are possible as the investigation continues.



This comes after authorities executed a search warrant at a hardware and plumbing supply business in L.A. where numerous stolen products were found. Authorities recovered five guns, $30,000 in cash, and half a million dollars in stolen merchandise.