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Local retailers get tips for stopping thieves
By:
CHESAPEAKE - A group of local truck drivers stole as much as $1 million in merchandise, by some estimates, from various Hampton Roads retailers before law enforcement officials broke up the ring earlier this year.
Goods destined for stores including Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sally Beauty Supply and the Navy Exchange ended up in the hands of independent truck drivers working under contract for a local transport company, said Sgt. Bruce Razey of the Virginia Beach Police Department. They took men's suits, pool supplies, children's ride-on powered vehicles, and chain saws and other tools, some of which investigators found for sale on the Internet auction site eBay, Razey said.
The Virginia Beach police detective who initiated the case in April, Terry Shields, was named law enforcement officer of the year Tuesday by the Retail Alliance, a local trade group for merchants. The alliance recognized Shields and the case as part of its fourth annual Loss Prevention Conference aimed at helping retailers fight theft in their stores.
Because the truckers crossed several cities - Norfolk, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Newport News - and included deliveries for Navy stores, the case was passed on to federal agents. Charges are expected, Razey said.
"We really don't have any idea how much they stole," he said, adding that state police have estimated the total value of goods recovered at about $1 million.
The conference took place at the Chesapeake Conference Center and included speakers discussing organized retail theft, which involves bands of professional shoplifters. It also covered methods for screening employees and legal remedies retailers can use against thieves.
Chae Chong, owner of the Zie Spot clothing store in MacArthur Center and a new member of the Retail Alliance, said he gleaned much information about employee theft and cashier theft and ways to combat it. Although he has only two workers besides his wife at the store, he is preparing to eventually hire more .
"Down the road, I'm planning to have another store," he said.
Stronger employee oversight might have helped the retailers who lost products to the truckers, Razey said. In many cases, the drivers became friendly with store receivers, who would trust them enough to sign off on their deliveries without checking that all items had arrived.
Some of the retailers learned about the missing goods only when law enforcement came to them about the case. "They had no clue," Razey said.
Goods destined for stores including Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sally Beauty Supply and the Navy Exchange ended up in the hands of independent truck drivers working under contract for a local transport company, said Sgt. Bruce Razey of the Virginia Beach Police Department. They took men's suits, pool supplies, children's ride-on powered vehicles, and chain saws and other tools, some of which investigators found for sale on the Internet auction site eBay, Razey said.
The Virginia Beach police detective who initiated the case in April, Terry Shields, was named law enforcement officer of the year Tuesday by the Retail Alliance, a local trade group for merchants. The alliance recognized Shields and the case as part of its fourth annual Loss Prevention Conference aimed at helping retailers fight theft in their stores.
Because the truckers crossed several cities - Norfolk, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Newport News - and included deliveries for Navy stores, the case was passed on to federal agents. Charges are expected, Razey said.
"We really don't have any idea how much they stole," he said, adding that state police have estimated the total value of goods recovered at about $1 million.
The conference took place at the Chesapeake Conference Center and included speakers discussing organized retail theft, which involves bands of professional shoplifters. It also covered methods for screening employees and legal remedies retailers can use against thieves.
Chae Chong, owner of the Zie Spot clothing store in MacArthur Center and a new member of the Retail Alliance, said he gleaned much information about employee theft and cashier theft and ways to combat it. Although he has only two workers besides his wife at the store, he is preparing to eventually hire more .
"Down the road, I'm planning to have another store," he said.
Stronger employee oversight might have helped the retailers who lost products to the truckers, Razey said. In many cases, the drivers became friendly with store receivers, who would trust them enough to sign off on their deliveries without checking that all items had arrived.
Some of the retailers learned about the missing goods only when law enforcement came to them about the case. "They had no clue," Razey said.