Millions of dollars worth of merchandise was recovered last week after thefts in Wilmette led investigators to a major fencing ring operating in the Chicago area.
After a yearlong undercover investigation, police executed search warrants in Chicago, Cicero, Oak Lawn, Bolingbrook and California on Oct. 6, recovering 276,000 retail products valued at $7.5 million and evidence of a “sophisticated criminal enterprise,” police said.
They included allergy medicine, beauty products and personal healthcare items, according to Wilmette Police Cmdr. Michael Robinson.
The operation had been running since before 2020, Robinson said.
Eight suspects were arrested and face felony charges: Michael Beals, 41; Hani Hamad, 51; Iaad Hamad, 48; Fe Keisha Hamlin, 41; Markell Spencer, 35; Dylan Bryant, 28; Donald Kimball, 27; Brett Pendleton, 26.
Five of the eight live in Chicago or surrounding suburbs, police said. Bryant, Kimball and Pendleton reside in California.
People would steal the merchandise and deliver it to the group at storefronts in Chicago. The products were taken to warehouses throughout the city, where security and other stickers were removed, Robinson said.
The suspects then shipped the merchandise to e-commerce merchants in Irvine, Calif. and distributors in New York, police said.
In an effort to hide the proceeds, the suspects established accounts with different banks and used the money to purchase “residential properties and fund the continued operation of their financial crimes enterprise,” police said.
Wilmette police were assisted by Chicago police, Illinois state police, California Highway Patrol and other agencies as well as Kroger’s Organized Retail Crime Unit, the CVS Organized Retail Crime Team, Walgreens, and Target.
