Cookie banner

This site uses cookies. Select "Block all non-essential cookies" to only allow cookies necessary to display content and enable core site features. Select "Accept all cookies" to also personalize your experience on the site with ads and partner content tailored to your interests, and to allow us to measure the effectiveness of our service.

To learn more, review our Cookie Policy, Privacy Notice and Terms of Use.

or
clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Michigan Police Busted a $15,000-a-Day Shoplifting Ring

Victoria's Secret beauty products were one of the main targets.
Victoria's Secret beauty products were one of the main targets.

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Detroit Free Press reported on a multi-million dollar shoplifting ring in southeastern Michigan that Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard called "amazing in size and scope," the biggest his force has ever seen. Five peopled accused of running the retail thefts amassed as much as $15,000 of items per day, mainly from CVS, Walgreens and Victoria's Secret and then resold them online.

They worked out of a "clean and tidy and well-run" 7,600-square-foot warehouse and employed three women, or "shoppers." The women wore special clothes designed for concealing goods and were given lists of stuff—like lotions and medication—to lift. The investigation launched in the first place because the lists contained cold medicine, antacids and other over-the-counter drugs, and those missing products were thought to be in connection with meth manufacturing.

According to DFP, investigators discovered, "$75,000 in cash, about $30,000 in merchandise from CVS and Walgreens, $10,000 in items stolen from other stores and more than $3 million in perfumes, lotions and creams stolen from Victoria's Secret in Las Vegas." For which Bouchard made a funny, "I guess what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas because now it's in Hazel Park."
· Police: 'Amazing' $15,000-a-day shoplifting ring targeted CVS, Walgreens [Detroit Free Press]
· Hermés Collection Robbed Because French Drivers Sought Coffee [Racked]