Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins/Insider
- LA County Sheriff's Department says it arrested eight suspects in an organized retail crime ring.
- Officials say the crew targeted retail chains in three states and sold stolen merchandise online.
- Last week, corporate investigators joined law enforcement to raid locations where items were found.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it has arrested eight people in connection with an organized crime ring that stole millions of dollars worth of products from retailers in the region.
Officials said on March 3 that the recovered merchandise included cosmetics, over-the-counter medication, and hygiene products, which had been stolen from retailers in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Items were then brought to multiple locations throughout LA County and sold to other crews who would then sell to the public, the Sheriff's Department said. Cash and a gun were also recovered.
The announcement follows raids last week in which corporate investigators from Walmart, Target, and CVS joined law enforcement to identify and recover boxes of merchandise from a dozen locations, as witnessed by KCAL News.
Authorities told the TV station the products were connected with a string of smash-and-grab robberies and cargo theft incidents.
One warehouse in the area was so filled with goods that it "resembled a Costco," KCAL reported, and investigators said that most of the items are sold online, including on Amazon.