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 UPDATE:
Baby formula rings may fund terrorist groups
Baby formula is thriving on the black market in Las Vegas. Moms sell it. Drug
addicts sell it. Even dads are in on the game. Unfortunately, the illegal sale
of baby formula may have darker consequences. Organized retail theft
investigator Darin Fredrickson spent the past seven years busting baby formula
rings. “Some of the baby formula theft has funded terrorism efforts overseas,”
he said. “The last group we worked, there were about four layers or sales, and
then it went out of state. Police busted one group of women as they bought
formula on the streets. Police uncovered cases of formula in the women’s home.
The formula was being sold to the head of an alleged black market ring in New
York with possible ties to terrorism. The National Retail Federation unveiled in
a 200 page report that 7 out of 10 cases of baby formula sales involve fencing
operations run by citizens of Middle Eastern origin. In 2005, federal
authorities busted a terrorist ring that was selling formula in the black
market. The ring had potential links to HAMAS and Hezbollah.
(Source
8newsow.com)
Staten Island man pleads guilty to helping build elaborate network of false
identities to fuel $200M international credit card scheme Khawaja
Ikram, 41, was part of a conspiracy which fabricated more than 7,000 bogus
identities to obtain more than 25,000 illicit credit cards, and run up more than
$200 million in bills, said Paul J. Fishman, U.S. attorney for New Jersey. The
massive enterprise ran from 2003 through February 2013, authorities said, and
spanned at least eight countries and 28 states, including New Jersey. Twenty-two
defendants have been charged in the case, including Ikram and another Staten
Islander, Mohammad Khan, said officials. Khawaja Ikram is slated to be sentenced
Sept. 23 in New Jersey federal court. He faces up to 30 years behind bars and a
$1 million fine or twice the gain or loss caused by the crime, said prosecutors.
(Source
silive.com)
 Great
Video of ORC hit at Bealls in Lakeland, Fla. Deputies in Polk County
are searching for a woman they say sprayed a loss prevention officer with
chemicals during a retail theft last year. According to officials, 20-year-old
Tonea Nicola Crawford is wanted for robbery with a weapon and grand theft.
Crawford stole hundreds of dollars of clothing with another woman at the Bealls
store on Highway 98 in Lakeland, deputies said. As a loss prevention officer
tried to stop the women, Crawford sprayed the man with a chemical agent to
prevent him from detaining the other woman, a news release said. Deputies said
they believe Crawford is involved with a group of organized retail theft
activity around the central Florida area. She is also wanted in connection to a
theft from a Belk store on Town Center Drive in Lakeland last month.
(Source
wesh.com)
ORC ring of three busted hitting Giant Food store in Selinsgrove
Three New Yorkers were busted for taking part in a conspiracy to steal nearly
$2,000 worth of merchandise from the Giant Food Store in Monroe Township. State
police at Selinsgrove were contacted by the supermarket’s store loss prevention
employee who reported two individuals had stolen razor blades, over-the-counter
heartburn medication and teeth whitening strips Thursday. District Attorney
Michael Piecuch said retail thefts from beauty and health aisles are common
because the items can often be sold quickly and easily. The items were valued at
$1,928, court records said. Charged with felony retail theft and conspiracy were
Dwayne E. Evans, 32, of Briarwood, N.Y., and Michael Clarence Morrison, 26, of
Bronx, N.Y. Police also charged a third suspect, Majida Abdullah Muhammad-Earnell,
38, of Jamaica, N.Y., with felony conspiracy to commit retail theft. (Source
dailyitem.com)
Women wanted for using stolen credit cards at Upstate malls Greenville
police are looking for two women they say were caught on camera using stolen
credit or debit cards at Haywood and Westgate Malls in Greenville, S.C. (Source
wyff4.com)
 2nd
sister charged in Walgreen’s Razor Blade thefts in Chicago The sister
of a woman recently charged in the theft and illegal resale of nearly $1,000 in
razor blades from a local drugstore joined her sibling Tuesday with the same
felony charges. Samantha L. McAleer, 25, was charged with theft and corrupt
business influence for what police said was her role in a scheme with her
sister, Nicole, 28. The case began in February when police got in-store security
video of two women who entered a local Walgreens and stole $926 in men's razor
blades. From there, the two went to another Walgreens and stole $791 in razor
blades. Nicole told investigators she and her sister would take the razor blades
to downtown Chicago selling to small convenience store owners.
(Source
journalgazette.net)
 Mesa Police seeking 2 Baby Formula thieves
Mesa police are looking for two suspects in connection with the theft of baby
formula from two East Valley stores. Officers said a man and woman entered
Walmart at 1606 S. Signal Butte and Target at 1525 S. Power Rd. on May 5 and May
9. At each location, the pair stole a tote bag and backpack and filled them with
baby formula before leaving the stores, according to a police report. Witnesses
saw them leaving in a maroon Acura with a temporary tag and a large white Acura
symbol on the rear window. (Source
kpho.com)
Tampa man pleads guilty to using counterfeit credit cards to buy $47,000 of
tires in Polk County
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