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A multi-agency law enforcement team, including the Gresham Police Department (GPD), arrested a vendor, Said Alawi, of Portland, while serving a warrant at a Gresham flea market and a home in Portland yesterday, shutting down an organized retail theft and fencing operation.
The law enforcement team, comprising member from GPD, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), and the Multnomah County’s DA’s Office were following up on information obtained in previous retail theft cases that led them to Alawi who was running a fencing operation from his home in Portland and the Oregon Flea Market in Gresham.
Thousands of stolen items, with an estimated retail cost well over $10,000, including clothing, hygiene products, cosmetics, and other property, were recovered from the flea market and Alawi’s home.
Police reminded the public that organized retail crime affects every member of the community by driving up prices at legitimate retailers, whose price increases impact all products, not just frequently stolen items.
By targeting the fencing operation where stolen goods are resold to the community, the supply chain is disrupted, and the demand for stolen goods, one of the root causes of theft, is reduced. Members of the community can help in the fight against retail crime by remembering that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Alawi now faces charges including aggravated theft in the first degree and organized retail crime.
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