SEATTLE — Seattle police arrested a downtown store owner and recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen LEGO sets in an investigation that wrapped up Friday.
The investigation, named “Operation: MandalOrganized Retail Theft,” began in July after a downtown retailer contacted police about a repeat shoplifter.
A representative from the business told police the suspect repeatedly stole LEGO sets, often Star Wars sets. The loss prevention representative estimated that the suspect stole more than $10,000 in merchandise between July and September.
In September, a representative from the business that had been stolen from spotted a nearby store that was stocked with many of the same LEGO sets which had been shoplifted.
The person went inside and saw that many of the items had RFID tags on them, indicating they had been previously stolen. He told police who went to the store to investigate.
While the detective was at the store, the shoplifter arrived and sold more items to the store.
After doing additional undercover work, police determined that the owner “was knowingly trafficking stolen goods” and served a warrant at the store Friday, according to a blotter post.
Police seized thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise, including 171 LEGO sets.
The loss prevention representative determined that 34 of those products came from his store, with a value of more than $2,000.
The 67-year-old store owner was arrested for trafficking in stolen property and booked into King County Jail, the blotter post said.
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