Retail theft ring raid leads to recovery of stolen merch worth millions including Advil, Pepcid

Eight people were arrested in connection with a suspected multi-million dollar retail theft operation in which medicines, cosmetics and other items were stolen from West Coast stores and re-sold, Los Angeles County sheriff officials said.

The organized crew is accused of stealing retail products from stores in California, Nevada and Arizona that were then taken to locations through the Los Angles area, where they were sold to various operations, according to authorities.

Law enforcement refers to these illegal operations in which people buy stolen goods and then resell them for a profit as "fences."

Raids uncovered stolen gun, 'large sum' of cash, goods worth millions

Sheriff‘s detectives obtained search warrants and conducted raids at a dozen locations early Thursday in Los Angeles believed to be involved in the crime ring, according to KCAL CBS.

One of those locations was a small South Los Angeles market, where investigators discovered boxes of stolen merchandise from stores including Target and CVS stacked to the ceiling, according to the report. Photos shared by the sheriff's department show a pile of the alleged stolen goods, which include over-the-counter medications such as Advil and Pepcid.

The sheriff's department also reported recovering a stolen firearm and "a large sum of" cash, according to a news release.

The retailers estimated the value of the stolen property to be worth "several million dollars," the sheriff's department said.

The suspects, who were not named, were charged with organized retail theft and receiving stolen property. They are each being held on $60,000 bail, the sheriff's office said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA retail theft ring targeted retailers, over the counter medicine