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Nine of the nation’s best loss-prevention officers were flown into Albuquerque last week to work with Albuquerque Police Department detectives and security officers at Coronado Mall to bring down some of the city’s most active retail thieves, according to an APD news release.
The three-day operation, which ended late Friday, resulted in 38 arrests, including that of 38-year-old Manuel Leyba, who allegedly stole more than $12,000 worth of property from Coronado Mall retailers in the five days leading up to the operation, the release said.
More than $3,500 in stolen property was recovered in the operation, APD said.
According to APD, the arrests cleared more than $20,000 worth of cases, and the suspected shoplifters taken into custody had allegedly victimized 23 stores inside Coronado Mall.
“People look at shoplifting and they think it is a victimless crime,” Mayor Richard J. Berry said in the release. “It’s not. These thieves have a profound impact on our local economy. Each dollar they steal, they take away gross receipts taxes from the taxpayer.”
Loss-prevention officers from national stores such as GAP and Victoria’s Secret joined some 15 APD detectives and four mall security officers in the operation, with detectives and loss-prevention officers working undercover posing as shoppers.
Some of the suspected thieves were observed stealing from as many as seven stores before they were taken into custody, according to police.
“Some of the teams that we saw as part of these organized shoplifting groups included a mother-daughter, a father-son and a husband-wife team,” APD Chief Ray Schultz told KOB-TV. “They were working in concert with each other.”
Police told Eyewitness News 4 that they will run similar operations in the malls and retail centers during the summer months.
