Vancouver police say they've arrested a man linked to the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars of baby formula.
Det. Const. Doug Fell says the accused preyed on as many 20 drug-addicted people in the city's Downtown Eastside by recruiting them to shoplift infant food from retail chains over the past year.
#VPD busts stolen baby formula ring https://t.co/61YoduzHZx. Over $50,000 worth of formula was recovered. pic.twitter.com/Y5SbSZQWiC
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) November 17, 2016
The seizure is estimated to be worth about $100,000 and Fell believes the suspect, who is 46 years old, is responsible for exporting an additional $200,000 to Asia for resale.
Police believe the so-called predatory fencing ring accounts for 70 per cent of the baby formula theft in the Lower Mainland, which has spiked in recent years.
Fell says criminals can earn 250 per cent of what they originally paid on the street for baby formula by moving it to China, where consumers pay up to $90 per container.
The suspect has not been identified as charged are pending.
