KC police bust what they call an organized retail crime ring operating in a nice neighborhood

OAK GROVE, Missouri - Residents of a quiet suburban neighborhood in Oak Grove awoke at 6 a.m. this week to the sound of the Kansas City S.W.A.T team.  People watched as a home in their neighborhood was raided by officers carrying weapons and equipment to bust down doors.

Inside the home in this normally quiet neighborhood, officers seized stacks and boxes full of common household goods and clothing they say was stolen from Target and CVS.

Officers carried out armloads of shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper and paper towels along with piles of clothing and stacked it on the yard and driveway. Officers say altogether their raid netted more than 25,000 items valued at more than $177,000 dollars.

“They store it here,” said Sgt. Mike Foster of the Central Property Division of the Kansas City Police Department, “and they sell it either on eBay, take it to swap and shop, flea markets things like that.”

Detectives made three arrests in what they described as a family owned organized retail crime operation. Officers say the family would call up boosters and order product. Boosters are professional shoplifters who steal mass quantities of products from retail stores and then fence (re-sell) items at discounted prices.

Authorities worked well into the day, removing and tagging the suspected stolen property. Loss prevention employees from Target and CVS were nearby, sorting the goods to identify their property. Police believe the family was not just working locally. Boxes of health and beauty products were found in a large van parked in the driveway of the home and it is believed the items were stolen in other cities and mailed to the suspects.

“These boosters…they'll steal $5,000 dollars worth of product a day. just healthcare and things like that...if that's what they want,” Foster said.

The raid in Oak Grove led officers to the “Super Flea” flea market in Kansas City where they shut down “Faye Market”, a health and beauty store in Northeast Kansas City that has been operating inside the Super Flea for years.

Boosters are not just a problem in Kansas City; in fact, it’s nationwide and has a serious impact on retailers.

“This is a huge business around the country...this is not even scraping the surface,” Foster said.

Large shop lifting rings and fraudulent returns cost the retail industry billions of dollars a year with estimates ranging from $15 billion to $30 billion. Authorities say for obvious reasons it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact financial impact. The National Retail Federation ( NRF ) conducts regular surveys to track the growth of organized retail crime.

The NRF polled 124 executives representing department/large box stores, discount, drug, grocery, restaurant and specialty retailers in April and May of this year. While every retailer surveyed reported being hit by retail theft gangs, there is a slight decrease in reported activity that authorities and retailers attribute to a poor economy.

Beyond the crime of theft, authorities say there is a risk associated with products that can turn hazardous or toxic if mishandled or stored. Some law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have linked some organized retail crime activity to funding terrorism in the Middle East.

Retailers and lawmakers are fighting back against organized retail crime through such simple tactics as stores alerting each other when a ring is operating to establishing funding and enacting tougher laws with stiffer penalties.

Kansas City officers making the raid in Oak Grove are working on a grant to fund equipment to help them better track and catch boosters in the act.