FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — The Renton Police Department (RPD) busted a multi-million dollar retail theft ring from a residence in Federal Way.
According to RPD, a 32-year-old Federal Way resident was receiving stolen items from multiple shoplifters.
“He was trafficking stolen property and had people who were professionally shoplifting for him," Detective Robert Onishi with the Renton Police Department said. “He turned his house into a warehouse where he had organized product for all kinds of buyers who may or may not have known that it was illegally obtained.”
Detective Brian Jordan of the Department’s Special Enforcement Team was able to track the stolen merchandise after he sold hundreds of thousands of items on eBay.
After serving a warrant, Jordan recovered an estimated $1.5 million worth of stolen items.
“We took four, 20-foot Uhaul trucks worth of product out of this place and it is still being sorted through," Onishi said. “The merchandise came from as far away as Snow Country and as close as Auburn. So we are talking all over the western Washington area.”
Renton police said the merchandise was stolen from different major retailers like Fred Meyer, Lowe's, Walmart, Home Depot, and Target.
Items found included over-the-counter medications, personal care products, laundry detergent, power tools, vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances, plumbing fixtures, computer hardware, audio equipment, Lego products, and printer cartridges.
Detectives also found a large quantity of merchandise already packaged for shipping, addressed for delivery to buyers nationwide.
“I have been doing this for 31 years, I have never seen that amount of product," Onishi said. "It wasn't just someone taking a pack of gum or something small, this was people stealing thousands of thousands of dollars."
Police said shoplifting cost retailers an estimated $2.7 billion in Washington state in 2021.