SEATTLE — Officers with the Seattle Police Department on Thursday began returning $70,000 in stolen merchandise to stores in downtown Seattle.
Police said the returns were the culmination of an investigation that began in 2017 into a retail theft ring.
Investigators said in December 2017 they identified that a 39-year-old man was purchasing and reselling items stolen from downtown stores.
In March 2018, police said they served a search warrant at the man’s home in Burien and took the man into custody.
The $70,000 in merchandise was found inside the man’s house, police said.
According to police, the man received a seven-month sentence and arrested four additional people who were suspected to be involved.
Police said many of the items recovered still had their tags on.
"Police continue to work to dismantle large scale retail theft operations throughout the city," a spokesperson for the Police Department wrote in a blotter post.
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