Lyons police recover $5M in stolen merchandise; 2 men arrested in multistate theft ring

LYONS, Ill. (WLS) -- Two men have been arrested and accused of stealing millions of dollars in merchandise from high end companies as part of a multistate theft ring, police said.

Lyons police said this was the largest recovery of stolen merchandise the department has ever had. More than $5 million worth of shoes, clothing and other items ended up in a warehouse on West Roosevelt in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.
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The theft ring has reached a number of states across the country, police said. More arrests are expected soon. A month-long investigation led to the arrests.



Lyons police said a cargo trailer of a shipping truck was broken into on Sept. 19 at a storage yard in Lyons. Then, just a few hours later, suspects Edwin Aguirre-Ramirez and Erik Lugano-Bautista allegedly came back and stole the trailer with 800 cartons, mostly full of toys.

Police said the two 24-year-olds then took the trailer to the warehouse in Austin. The suspects allegedly operated a resale business there called "Ozzie's Shoes."



"This is a great example of effective, professional and diligent police work," Lyons Mayor Chris Getty said.
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The suspects now face class-two felony burglary charges and more charges are expected to be filed soon against them for additional stolen merchandise that has been found.

The Lyons Police Chief Thomas Herion said Nike believes this is the largest recovery of their stolen merchandise this year. More than $3.5 million of shoes were found.

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"These Nike shoes... original price of two thousand dollars," Herion said. "Nike is coming to pick these up."

Police said potential buyers would come to the warehouse and check out the inventory of stolen goods.



"What I'm being told is they go in, examine the product, go back to the supplier, 'yes we want it,'" Herion said.
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The investigation of the theft ring has led police to more leads that are connected to other states, including Tennessee, Arkansas, California and North Carolina.

Police said these types of cargo robberies are happening more often across the country. They urged companies to utilize GPS devices with their loads.

"When that items stolen, track where it's going," Herion said. "Get it where it's gonna be, and that would be the easiest the way to do it. You can track a car anywhere."

Court appearance dates are currently pending for both of the men arrested as more charges are expected soon.