Chalk up a cargo theft victory for the good guys.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Unit recently announced its investigators recovered more than $2 million in stolen merchandise at an Oak Forest, Illinois warehouse.
According to a social media post by the sheriff's office, insurance company investigators contacted the sheriff’s ORC Unit about a stolen cargo trailer with Target products that were taken from a Joliet facility Dec. 13. The trailer had been tracked via its GPS device to a warehouse in the 4100 block of 166th Street of the Chicago suburb.
On Dec. 30 ORC investigators and insurance investigators met the warehouse owner who said the Target items were not there but gave them consent to look around. In plain view, ORC investigators saw multiple pallets of Dyson products, Wahl hair clippers, and Nike shoes, among other items, that appeared to have been stolen.
The sheriff's office said Investigators returned to the warehouse with a search warrant. They learned the Dyson products in the warehouse had been stolen while being transported from California to Kentucky and that the hair clippers were stolen in Whiteside County. The Nikes’ last known location was in California.
They also recovered stolen merchandise from other retailers and manufacturers including Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Ninja/Shark, NOCO, Old Navy, TJX, Ulta, Victoria Secret, and Walmart.
The sheriff's office said this remains an ongoing and active investigation.
According to recent reports, the greater Chicago area isd one of the leading locations for cargo theft.
