Police Say International Theft Ring Is Moving In

An international ring of South American thieves, who use distraction techniques to steal millions of dollars worth of retail clothing and jewelry a year in Los Angeles, is moving into Ventura County, police say.

Alleged members of the ring were arrested by Ventura police last week after a shoplifting spree, and in December other members of the ring were caught in a foiled Ventura jewelry store heist, police said.

Last February, in a brazen daytime theft, seven members of the ring stole about $100,000 worth of diamonds from Best Products Co. in Ventura, police said. They have not been apprehended.

Police estimate that the ring, which they say is primarily composed of Colombians, is responsible for $500 million in losses each year throughout the United States. The organization has 800 to 1,200 members nationwide, with a third of them operating in California, according to authorities.

The ring surfaced in the early 1980s, and losses in downtown Los Angeles’ jewelry district grew so large by 1988 that the Police Department formed a special undercover unit to deal with it.

“We put a lot of heat on in the last four years,” said Christopher Krist, a detective with the organized theft unit. Since then, members of the ring scattered to the San Fernando Valley and into Ventura County, he said.

“They are very bold,” Krist said. “We have seen them clean out 100 pairs of Levi jeans from a Miller’s Outpost. It’s amazing how people don’t pay attention.”

In Ventura last Thursday, three suspected members of the ring allegedly stole $2,000 worth of clothing and accessories from three stores at the Buenaventura Plaza before they were arrested by Los Angeles and Ventura police.

Zamir Neira, 21, Olfa Reyes, 52, and Humberto Sanchez, 39, all Colombians living in Los Angeles, pleaded not guilty Monday to burglary charges.

Before they were arrested, the three had taken 19 items, including eight warm-up suits from Big 5 Sporting Goods, according to police reports. Police gave this account of their activities:

While undercover police watched, Reyes stuffed clothing under her skirt. One of the men acted as a lookout. The other distracted clerks or blocked their view of Reyes. Police recovered as evidence a “booster girdle,” an oversized girdle with pockets attached that are large enough to hold stolen clothing.

Reyes allegedly carried a big bag in which she placed some of the stolen items. A female undercover officer followed Reyes into the restroom, and by standing on the toilet saw her extract stolen merchandise from under her skirt, the police report states.

The items were placed in bags and handed off to the lookout who made six trips back to the car--never using the same route--to place them in the trunk and return with more empty bags. Twice he moved the car in the mall parking lot.

When they were arrested, two of the defendants gave false names, according to the police report. All three had recently been arrested in Las Vegas and Phoenix for stealing large amounts of clothes, the report states.

Krist said members of the ring usually operate at malls, airports and other crowded places. They use a woman who wears baggy clothing and a booster girdle. They have a claw-like tool that removes sensor tags attached to clothing to prevent theft, he said. They are well-dressed, speak little English, rarely use weapons or violence and seldom talk to police.

“They steal like you and I go to work,” Krist said. They sell the stolen property to clothing and jewelry receivers, or they unload it at swap meets or to a fence, he said. A pair of Levi jeans will draw $15, and maybe $50 to $100 if fenced outside the United States, he said.

Most ring members come out of Bogota, he said. They are poor and are brought up to steal as a living. They arrive in the United States illegally via Mexico. The largest concentration of them is in New York City, with Los Angeles not far behind. They live a nomadic existence, almost like Gypsies, he said.

Krist said his unit makes about 200 arrests a year.

“We’ve scattered them,” he said. “They have increased their activity in the San Fernando Valley, but they don’t stop there. We’ve followed them to Ventura County a couple of times.”

Ventura County is fertile ground for the ring, partly because it is an easy commute from Los Angeles, said Mike Woodings, another detective in the unit.

Other law enforcement authorities in Ventura County said they knew of no incidents involving the ring, but their methods are well known to Ventura police.

“They are extremely organized and very well practiced,” said Ventura Detective Lynne Klamser.

The Best store theft was orchestrated by seven men and women, she said. Some distracted the clerks on duty, while others pried open the top of the jewelry case. Others positioned themselves to block anyone’s view of the case.

“They are smooth,” said Ed Medina, regional loss prevention manager for Best. He said the theft took 30 minutes and was recorded on a store video camera.

Seven others were not so lucky last month when they were arrested on suspicion of attempted theft of jewelry at Lynn’s Jewelry in Ventura. The store owner locked the store, making it impossible for the thieves to leave, police said.

Sgt. David Evans, also with the Los Angeles unit, said the three arrested last week in Ventura were so familiar with the mall that officers believed that they had been there often, either to case it out or to commit other thefts.

“They like malls,” he said. “They are good and so fast.”

Evans said his officers observed a female member at a North Hollywood store last year. The woman was wearing a booster girdle in which she stuffed numerous items of clothing--hangers and all.

“She looked like a boat when she walked out,” he said.