Following a shoplifting case in December of 2022, the Tucson Police Department (TPD) says it discovered a fencing ring operating from a chicken storefront located at 4001 N. Oracle Rd.
Last week, three suspects were arrested after search warrants were carried out at the restaurant and two residences simultaneously.
Investigators say their work revealed trafficking-in-stolen property getting resold online and stored at two locations.
Officers were keeping track of consistent activity with a fencing operation in which staff members of the restaurant were paying known shoplifters for stolen items from businesses in the area. Employees then began reselling these stolen items from home, as well as online.
TPD officers then identified two addresses where the stolen property was stored.
On Wednesday, search warrants were served at the restaurant and two homes, one located near South Mission Road and West Calle Guadalajara, and the other located in the 4500 block of South 13
th
Avenue.
Officers recovered thousands of dollars in stolen property, includingL
Tools Clothing Shoes Diapers Electronics
52-year-old Lydia Grijalva-Velasquez, 61-year-old Fabian Rodriguez Rios and 45-year-old Francis Sophia Vasquez were arrested on charges of trafficking in stolen property.