DENVER (KDVR) — A pawnshop employee in was arrested Tuesday after investigators found some of $1 million worth of merchandise stolen from retailers around the metro area, police said.
Officers with the Westminster Police Department and several other agencies executed the search warrant at the Aurora Gold Buyer pawnshop located at 8030 E. Mississippi Ave. in unincorporated Arapahoe County on Tuesday.
Investigation finds $1.6M in stolen property after ‘major crime ring’ bust in Denver metro
A two-year investigation found that the pawnshop was receiving and reselling stolen merchandise, according to police.
The police department said detectives linked the pawnshop to “hundreds of theft and robbery incidents” at retailers across the metro area, adding up to over $1 million in losses from stores like King Soopers, Safeway, Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot and more.
During the search, hundreds of the stolen items were found inside the shop and 54-year-old Sergey Nikolaev was taken to the Arapahoe County Jail on an arrest warrant for several charges, which police said included:
- Several violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act
- Money laundering
- Theft
- Pawnbroker Act violations
The case is still under investigation and the police department said more information will be released when it is available…