Crime & Safety

Police: Gang Stole Alcohol from Grocery Stores, Safes from Restaurants

Police officers from 15 different agencies worked together this morning to execute search warrants, finding the spoils of a series of thefts and arresting 10 people.

Investigators from Orange and Los Angeles counties today raided multiple locations as they rounded up 10 suspects in a burglary ring that targeted grocery stores for alcohol.

Officials said a Long Beach-based gang called Insane Crip Gang was behind the burglaries, the spoils of which would be used to fund gang activities. Ten people were arrested today, KTLA reports. 

Orange County Sheriff's investigators began focusing on the thefts several months ago, and in the course of the investigation realized that Seal Beach police were narrowing in on the same gang, Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock. That led to a multi-jurisdictional crackdown that included police from cities including Long Beach, Torrance and El Segundo.

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A crew of burglars would go to Ralphs grocery stores with one to three suspects grabbing booze off the shelves and bringing it to a getaway driver, Hallock said.

Each burglary amounted to about $5,000 in alcohol stolen, Hallock said. There were about 50 burglaries in Orange County, he added.

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The burglary ring was also stealing safes from restaurants, police said. KTLA reports that one of the restaurants targeted was Spaghettini in Seal Beach, but the suspects there were unsuccessful in absconding with the safe.

In one raid investigators recovered about 1,350 bottles of stolen hard liquor, police said.

The thefts started in early 2013, Hallock said.

--City News Service

Patch Editor Penny Arévalo contributed to this report. 


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