Over $1M worth of clothes stolen from York Region, GTA stores: police

Police said they'd recovered nearly $1 million worth of stolen clothing.

Five people have been arrested after more than $1 million worth of stolen merchandise was recovered by York Regional Police.

In a news conference on Tuesday morning, police say the shoplifting ring involved five people from Toronto and at least 35 stores across York Region and the GTA. Investigators say the thefts started in October of last year at Markville Mall in Markham.

Investigators say every single room and closet of the Toronto residence was stuffed with stolen clothing for sale.

“The irony and hypocrisy to this is that the illegal retail store had its own video surveillance system monitoring for shoplifting go figure,” says Det. Sgt. John Braybrook.

Police say last year alone, YRP dealt with 1,000 shoplifting complaints. Each case averaged $450 in stolen goods.  Shoppers we spoke with on Tuesday are stunned.

“It's a big deal because they jack up the prices,” says Laura Calleri. “So as a shopper it offends me.”

Police say they are still trying to determine how they did it, but so far it looks like they knew what they were doing.

“They were defeating the stores video surveillance systems by lining their bags with some type of the metal material similar to tinfoil,” says Braybook.

The accused are 48-year-old Thuy Nguyen, 41-year-old Seng Pring, 34-year-old Thi Nguyen, 55-year-old Phuoc Dang and 44-year-old Tu Chao. They face a number of theft related charges.

Investigators remind people if they are caught buying stolen merchandise, they too will be charged.

Police say there could be more stolen items out there and the list of stores scammed could grow in the coming days. Anyone with information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.