CHP seizes $450,000 in stolen goods, arrests Oakland woman

OAKLAND — An investigation into an Oakland-based fencing operation recently ended in the recovery of nearly half a million dollars in stolen merchandise and the arrest of a 35-year-old woman, according to authorities.

The California Highway Patrol launched the probe in July following a string of retail thefts targeting stores across the Bay Area, the agency said in a news release Friday.

Investigators identified suspects and obtained search warrants for a home and two vehicles in Oakland.

Served on Aug. 15, the warrants led to the 35-year-old woman’s arrest and the recovery of a “large amount of stolen merchandise,” the CHP said, adding that ill-gotten goods were also found at a storage facility the woman was leasing in the city.

The merchandise, which consisted mainly of items found at drugstores, was worth more than $450,000.

The woman was booked into Alameda County jail on charges of organized retail crime, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the CHP.