GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — New video shows what police said are two shoplifters leaving a store with a garbage can stuffed with thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.
Police are now trying to identify the suspects.
The thefts happened at a Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Stone Mountain Highway near Lilburn in Gwinnett County.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan was at the store, where two identified men stole over $4,000 in circuit breakers, police said.
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Police said the pair made no effort to hide the brazen crime.
“The surveillance video apparently shows them placing them in plastic garbage bins and then hauling them out of the store,” Cpl. J.C. Madiedo with Gwinnett County police said.
Circuit breaker theft is on the rise across Georgia and the country.
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Police said the switches to prevent an electrical circuit from overloading can be quickly sold at high profit, and there’s plenty of demand.
“Apparently, there’s some black market for them,” Madiedo said. “They’re getting them unloaded.”
Organized retail crime and shoplifting is skyrocketing across Georgia and the nation.
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The National Retail Federation said that last year, retailers reported more than $72 billion in inventory loss due to external theft. Atlanta-based Home Depot is stepping up security to combat organized theft.
Many thieves sell stolen merchandise using online marketplaces like Amazon, E-Bay and Let Go. Police said the only way to curb the surge in shoplifting crimes is to make sure those who commit them are held accountable.
“If anyone has information and knows the whereabouts of these two individuals, they can call crime stoppers to remain anonymous or just contact local detectives,” Madiedo said.
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