York Regional (Greater Toronto Area) Police seize $1M in stolen clothing from Lululemon, Victoria's Secret, JCrew, BCBG - shutting down Organized theft ring & Fencing Operation  York Regional Police have shut down an shoplifting ring and seized more than $1 million in stolen clothing. Officers began investigating a shoplifting incident at the Markville Mall in October 2014. The probe led to the discovery of a larger pattern of connected incidents, police say. As part of the investigation, high-quality video images of the suspects were obtained. Working closely in conjunction with loss prevention investigators, a pattern of thefts involving similar suspects began to emerge at various clothing retail locations. On Friday, March 20, 2015, officers conducting surveillance followed the suspects across the GTA as they stole clothing from multiple retailers at various malls. The five suspects were arrested and found to be in possession of a significant amount of stolen clothing in their vehicle. Subsequent to their arrests, a search warrant was conducted on a residence in the City of Toronto. "We get calls for shoplifting all the time, that's nothing new," Const. Andy Pattenden said Monday. "But when it turns into a bit of a pattern and people being identified by means of video surveillance, it turned out to be a group of people continuously hitting stores right across the GTA." Pattenden said investigators worked closely with loss prevention officers from numerous stores in the region to make the bust. "It's elaborate in that the quantity of goods that were stolen was significant," he said. He alleged the thieves also had a retail location where they sold the stolen goods. "They basically had a retail store in-house," Pattenden said. "Complete with security systems and everything to prevent theft from their own store in which all of the contents were (allegedly) stolen."  See videos below for more information from York Police. canoe.ca

Two women sentenced for using counterfeit checks to buy $500,000 of Gift Cards from Target  Twenty-eight-year-old Nichelle Nicole Rogers of Washington, D.C., was received more than 4 years in prison. Twenty-eight-year-old Ebony Nicole Ruffin of District Heights, Maryland, got more than 2 years in prison. Both were sentenced Monday in federal court in Greenbelt, and were each ordered to forfeit and pay $485,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Rogers and Ruffin used counterfeit personal checks and false identification to get gift cards and merchandise from Target stores in several states. wboc.com

Four arrested in $500,000 Building supply theft in Colleton Co, SC
Officers who went to Colleton County home after getting a tip about a burglary at a hardware store didn't have to look hard to determine they had the right house. A truck from the company was parked behind the home, with the company's logo on the truck visible from the street, Colleton County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Kyle Strickland said. The tip and the truck led officers to arrest three of four people believed to have pulled off the heist of about $500,000 worth of trucks, forklifts, lumber, doors, and custom windows from Grayco in Bluffton. Two of those four were also charged with taking more than $25,000 worth of items from a Georgia lumber yard in a similar burglary last week. thestate.com

Fake Walmart receipt puts 3 in jail for attempted theft in Hanford, CA  A repeat offender is one of three people in jail for trying to trick Walmart employees and get away with a TV. Imagine almost walking out of a store with a nearly $1,000 TV. Police said three suspects did just that by counterfeiting a receipt right in the parking lot. "That's a pretty advanced criminal to be able to fabricate a receipt and have the ability to do that inside the vehicle; I don't see that very often," said Hanford Police Cpl. Chad Allen. Hanford police arrested James Childs, 36, Christian Sandusky, 42, and Sabina Sidhu, 46, last Thursday. They said the three worked together to scope out a TV, print a fake receipt and try to get it out of the store. But it's Sidhu that Hanford police said is the ring leader in this crime. In fact back in April of last year police found $8,000 of high end electronics stolen from Walmarts in Kings and Fresno counties. Police back then found also receipt printers and said she used the same tactic. abc30.com

Fencing Operation: Lake Co, Ohio businesses raided after allegedly selling stolen goods, supporting heroin trade  The Lake County Sheriff's Office has announced the search of multiple businesses in recent weeks for allegedly buying and reselling stolen merchandise. In October 2014, the county created the Heroin Task Force to investigate heroin use and seek out the funding sources of the heroin trade. One of the most common funding sources is the sale of property obtained in burglaries of homes and businesses. After months of investigation, the sheriff's office obtained searched warrants for a handful of county retail businesses and executed them on March 5. In cooperation with Lake County Narcotics Agency, Painesville Police Department, Wickliffe Police Department and the State of Ohio Investigative Unit, authorities searched Dairy Mart at 31 Fern Drive in Painesville, Wickliffe Food Mart at 28926 Euclid Ave. in Wickliffe, and Spinners Discount Tobacco and Beverage at 29726 Euclid Ave. in Wickliffe. "Well over $150,000 in U.S. currency was seized, and the owners of these establishments are being charged with receiving stolen property at these locations. Further they will be facing administrative charges from the Ohio Investigative Unit for licensing violations," Lake County Sheriff Dan Dunlap said in a news release. Investigators learned that people, including those looking to support a heroin addiction, allegedly stole items from "big box stores" and then sold them to the small retail stores, Dunlap said. facebook.com