Beginning in February 2019, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Organized Retail Crime Unit and partnering entities conducted a large-scale undercover investigation focusing on a criminal enterprise of organized retail theft suspects who stole merchandise from stores across central Florida, in 14 different counties within 8 different judicial circuits.
According to their affidavits, the suspects engaged in an ongoing course of criminal conduct between four and five nights a week, hitting 8 to 10 businesses each day. Of the 150 reported thefts in the state, at least 25 thefts occurred in Polk County, and PCSO investigated cases involving the theft of between $150,000 to $200,000 worth of merchandise.
It is estimated the six suspects have stolen over $2 Million worth of goods statewide. The suspects took the stolen merchandise to several different locations and sold or “fenced” it, including shipping stolen goods to Cuba, and profited from it, resulting in felony racketeering charges… The Daily Ridge
