COLUMBUS — Northwest Ohio is serving as the prototype for what could become a series of regional task forces across the state targeting organized retail theft sprees and following the trail back to the heart of the enterprise behind them.
“The task force’s purpose is to try to get to where the stolen items are taken, to go after the people behind the organization — large syndicates, gangsters — where the property is being fenced,” Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said.
“There are still going to be small-time offenders with a drug habit,” he said. “The task force is focused on the big fish. We’re talking about billions of dollars a year being fenced.”…