Thousands in stolen merchandise recovered in search of Athens home
Athens-Clarke police said Thursday that more than $100,000 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered recently following an investigation that began after three private investigators located stolen clothing being sold at a flea market in Athens.
The investigation led to the arrests of an Athens couple, 34-year-old Carlos Alfredo Analco Lopez, and his 29-year-old wife, on felony charges of theft by receiving property. A hold was placed on Lopez by the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement due to his immigration status.
The arrests followed an investigation by private investigators hired to search for items stolen from Lululemon, a store that sells athletic wear, according to an Athens-Clarke police report.
The three investigators were at the J&J Flea Market on Aug. 9, where they used an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification) on some goods being sold by a woman at the market, according to the report.
The RFID can identify merchandise from a store. If the item is found outside the store and the code on the item remains in the system, this indicates it is stolen, police reported.
The private investigators reported to police that they used the scanner on property being sold by the woman, and the scan indicated the items came from Lululemon. After the woman loaded her merchandise into an enclosed trailer, they followed her to the mobile home park, where they notified police.
Police officers arrived and questioned the 34-year-old woman, who agreed she was selling Lululemon clothing and other brands at the flea market. She said her husband, who was not present, had a key to the trailer.
Police said the private investigators were able to scan the trailer and quickly determine that as much as $20,000 in stolen merchandise was possibly inside. The merchandise found in the trailer had been stolen mostly in the Atlanta area at Macy’s and at the Mall of Georgia in Buford, the report shows.
Police Lt. Katie Jenkins said Thursday that police are still working on leads that might determine where the Athens couple was receiving the stolen merchandise they were selling.
Source link
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!