GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Three women from a national organized crime group recently toured Michigan, hitting Walgreens stores 25 times and getting away with $99,000 in merchandise, according to recently released court documents.
A Michigan State Police detective who works undercover and didn’t want to be identified said the women are part of a nationwide “Organized Retail Crime Crew” that includes as many as 300 Romanian nationals.
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Recently released court records show the three women visited Michigan in October, starting in the Detroit area, in Wayne and Oakland counties, before moving west. Following the I-94 and I-96 corridors, they’re suspected of hitting Walgreens in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, then in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties.
In late October, they targeted the Walgreens on North Beacon Boulevard in Grand Haven, then drove 16 minutes north to hit a store on West Sherman Boulevard in Muskegon, court records show.