Several people have been arrested in a widespread retail theft operation that targeted home improvement stores in California and resulted in losses of more than $900,000, the California Highway Patrol announced Thursday.
The operation involved returning altered merchandise to the home improvement stores after the items’ valuable internal components were removed, the CHP said. The damaged products were returned for new items.
The investigation began in September after the CHP Valley Division’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force in Sacramento was contacted by The Home Depot about a “sophisticated fraud and theft scheme.”
The operation included “hundreds of incidents” at retail locations across California, the CHP said.
Search warrants were executed in several cities, including Baldwin Park in the San Gabriel Valley. About $307,000 in suspected stolen merchandise was recovered, the CHP said.
Authorities also seized $59,000 in cash and 12 firearms during the investigation.
It was not immediately clear how many people were arrested in an operation that involved several law enforcement jurisdictions, including CHP Southern Division.