Local police, feds break up theft ring

CHARLOTTE — Local and federal authorities say they’ve broken up a sophisticated theft ring that officers believe stole checks and credit cards from cars and homes, then went on shopping
sprees with the stolen identities.

The Charlotte Observer reports that more than 40 people were arrested in a police raid early Thursday, though several people were still at large.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of North Carolina said the ring operated for nearly six years.

Officers said more than 30 people stole belongings and, specifically, checkbooks and credit cards from cars and homes. Authorities told a news conference that the thieves would later
sell the credit cards and checks to another group that used a variety of methods to make money off the personal information.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)