Pair charged in $5M high-end theft ring in suburban Chicago
- Police said the criminal enterprise spanned multiple states
- The suspects face two charges with more expected to be filed
- $2 billion worth of merchandise was stolen from Illinois retailers in 2021
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Two men have been arrested and charged in a $5 million multi-state, high-end theft ring, according to police.
Police said the investigation began in September in the Chicago suburb of Lyons with a break-in of a semi-trailer in a storage yard. The suspects returned hours later, hooked up the trailer that was filled with toys, and took it to a warehouse on Chicago’s West Side.
Lyons police said the haul, dubbed “the motherload,” included more than $3 million worth of Nike shoes alone.
The two 24-year-old suspects, Edwin Aguirre-Ramirez and Erik Lugano-Bautista, face class-two felony burglary charges. More charges are expected to be filed, according to ABC7 News in Chicago.
Retail theft has dominated headlines since the COVID-19 pandemic. It accounted for more than $112 billion in industry losses in 2022 alone, according to the National Retail Federation.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that more than $2 billion worth of merchandise was stolen from Illinois retailers in 2021, according to WTTW-TV in Chicago.
California announced in September its plan to spend $267 million to help dozens of local law enforcement agencies increase patrols, buy surveillance equipment and conduct other activities aimed at cracking down on smash-and-grab robberies happening around the state.
NewsNation affiliate WGN-TV in Chicago and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
