Florida officials revealed the findings in a racketeering bust Tuesday morning in Tallahassee.
During the news conference, officials said that seven people had been arrested “for their involvement in a multilevel criminal enterprise centered on stealing smoke detectors from The Home Depot.”
Willie Harvin, Earl Gordon II, Charles McCloud Jr., Eduardo Viruet, Dwight Mosby, Eugene Oneal, and Hermis Sierra were among those arrested, according to a news release from Attorney General James Uthmeier issued Tuesday afternoon.
According to the AG, each suspect faces criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit racketeering, organized retail theft, and trafficking in stolen property.
Their arrests follow an investigation that discovered “at least 44 smoke detector thefts at The Home Depot locations across 17 Florida counties,” according to the announcement.
Home Depot anticipated a total loss of more than $800,000 as a result of the organized theft ring, according to the announcement.
Authorities seized nearly $80,000 in stolen property after executing a search warrant at a Hillsborough County storage unit, according to a Florida official. The storage unit is thought to be “one of the stops along the trafficking route, before ultimately ending up at a large Houston, Texas, warehouse,” according to the press release.
According to Agricultural Law Enforcement, Houston Police conducted a search warrant at the Texas warehouse and discovered around $300,000 worth of products.
Chief assistant state prosecutor Paul Dontenville and assistant state prosecutor Ben Grueschow will handle the case.
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