05:34 PM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005

By Amy Tortolani / 11 News

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Shoplifting may seem like a relatively small crime, but Houston authorities say the gang of shoplifters they've arrested had links to organized crime and possibly even terrorists.

KHOU

Some of the shoplifting gang members were caught on surveillance cameras.

A surveillance camera caught them in the act stealing thousands of dollars worth of over-the-counter drugs.

It happened so quickly, so frequently and with such ease that even veteran investigators were impressed. That's because these weren't your ordinary shoplifters.

"Nationwide criminal enterprise operates with Houston as hub," said Sgt. Johnnie Jezierski with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Investigators say stores and pharmacies can't keep up with the thieves. They've lost an estimated $30 million a year go the shoplifting rings.

"They will go out and hit stores with such a high frequency or high number of times and they get nervous about going back in that they take what they call a road trip," explained Detective Daniel Frazee with the Harris County Sheriff's Dept. "They leave the state of Texas and venture to other states and do the same thing."

Investigators say those captured admit ties to notorious gangs.

"We know because of the interviews with some of these people, pressure put on them by MS13 members to go out and commit these offenses," said Detective Frazee. "And, according to what they told us, part of the money they make is funneled into MS13 area."

Detectives explained how they operate.

"They go out on a daily basis and go to retail stores, take over-the-counter products, take it back to another location, box it up and call a buyer," said Detective Frazee.

Then the buyer sends the stolen goods to a warehouse where the items are reboxed and resold.

It's the owners of the warehouses that investigators stop just short of calling terrorists.

"There have been indications of that, but no evidence of that," said Sgt. Jezierski.

We contacted the FBI about these crimes and local agents tell us they are aware of the ties to MS13 but can't comment on any ties to terrorism.

Investigators say some of the stolen items end up back on the store shelves again.

"They wouldn't be surprised if they're getting their own product back," said Detective Frazee.

We asked several business about that, but only Kroger returned our call. "You don't have to worry if you buy through a normal retail outlet or legitimate outlet," said a company spokesperson. "A lot of the items stolen are sold at online auctions, flea markets and things of that nature."

Regardless, consumers still get stuck picking up the tab through higher prices.