Leader of retail theft operation arrested in Albuquerque [Video]

An Albuquerque man is in custody and accused of running the largest fencing operation in the metro.Raul Garcia, 43, is facing five charges from a grand jury indictment related to organized retail crime from June 2023 to April 2024. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office started to investigate Garcia in February 2023. Garcia is charged with organized retail crime, conspiracy, money laundering, racketeering and tampering with evidence. This fencing operation saw shoplifters stealing high-demand items that Garcia would purchase at a discounted price and resell them for profit. Your neighborhood: Local news from KOAT Action 7 NewsBernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said there could be more charges filed in the future.”We’ve got racketeering, we’ve got money laundering,” Bregman said. “There’s a lot of charges that we can bring forward.”The BCSO organized retail crime unit made the arrest. The office also worked along with Albuquerque police and several asset protection services …