Canton police bust organized retail crime ring in Metro Detroit: Three arrested

Three men are behind bars after Canton police cracked down on organized retail crime throughout Metro Detroit. 

What we know:

Officials say their nearly year-long investigation led them through Dearborn and Detroit, where those arrests took place. 

The crime the three men allegedly committed was fencing.

"When somebody steals something from a store they take it back to another place and reintroduce it into the commerce again, IE, the fence," said Captain Joseph Bialy with Canton police.

It all started at a few retail stores, including the Sam’s Club, Meijer, and Home Depot located in Canton, where multiple products would be taken from. 

"It can be anything small, anything from like Red Bull, to razors anything that would be profitable on the secondary market," said Bialy.

Investigators learned gas station management along with employees from the Valero Gas Station on Linwood Street in Detroit purchased those stolen items from people known as "boosters".

That led police to the Valero gas station last week and police made another arrest.

Police say their intense investigative work led to the arrest of Aziz Awadh, Hamood Fatteh, and Safwan Awadh all facing charges including Organized Retail Crime.

The Source: FOX 2 spoke with Captain Joseph Bialy with Canton police. 

DetroitCrime and Public SafetyCanton