October 20, 2008
Hot baby food?
"Hot" as in "stolen" -- I had no idea:
A store owner in the Wanskuck neighborhood is accused of paying people to steal cans of baby formula and other items from major retailers for resale in his own store.From the Providence Journal.Baby formula is one of the hottest items shoplifted from retailers -- so much that some investigators have dubbed it "liquid gold" because it's expensive and easy to resell on the black market. Nationally, baby formula has become a favorite of organized crime rings, which have been caught fencing millions of dollars in baby formula for resale at other stores or online auctions.
The Providence police say this is the first time that they've caught a store owner allegedly hiring people to steal the items for stocking on his own shelves.
Posted by David on October 20, 2008 1:59 PM
It is not considered a big story, but yes I have seen it elsewhere. I think there is usually a follow-up a bit later about some stores having trouble with vanillin/vanilla extract, becuase it is seventy percent alcohol by volume (140 proof!).
Posted by: teqjack on October 20, 2008 3:32 PM
There's a used bookstore in my neighborhood who used to (maybe still do) have the same method of restocking their inventory.
Posted by: Joel on October 28, 2008 1:11 PM
gmail.com