CLOVIS, Calif. (KMPH) — What started as two shoplifting arrests at a Target in California has cracked open what police are calling an international counterfeit ring.
The Clovis Police Department said a worker at the store in called the department's organized retail crime task force unit, saying people were stealing.
Police said they found a man, 18-year-old Vasile Stoian, and a teenage girl in the parking lot Friday night and caught them with several different counterfeit Apple products.
After searching the couple's SUV, police said they got a warrant to search their hotel room in Fresno, where they were staying.
According to detectives, they found $12,000 worth of counterfeit Apple Airpods and I-watches that detectives believe were made in China, shipped to the U.S. through Europe, and then wound up in Fresno.
It looks like the intent was to resell them for profit," Cpl. Meredith Alexander said. "This is an active investigation with multiple moving parts. We're still trying to piece it together."Police said Stoian and the teenager were arrested for misdemeanor theft and conspiracy charges. They were cited and released.
Now, detectives are trying to find out if more people are involved and they want to remind the public to always look out for red flags when purchasing counterfeit goods.
One of them is the price tag.
“Sometimes, it is too good to be true," Alexander said.
She said it's best to verify products before making a purchase, especially if it's out on the street.
We recommend buying these items from actual stores online or actual brick and mortar stores. I wouldn't recommend meeting people in parking lots to purchase these items or even at swap meets," she said.Police said anyone who has information about counterfeit products or organized retail crime to call authorities right away.
Authorities added a task force unit also made another four other arrests for shoplifting in a separate case. It also deterred two other thefts from retail businesses' and recovered about $500 worth of stolen property.
KMPH previously reported the state spent nearly $267 million last fall to help crack down on organized retail crimes. Clovis was one of the cities that received one of the grants.
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