Report: RAD’s loss-prevention specialists work with authorities to catch fencer

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey merchant was arrested on charges related to selling goods stolen from a local Rite Aid store, particularly cigarettes, according to published reports.

The Trenton, N.J., Trentonian reported Tuesday that police arrested Ladislao Martinez and charged him with fencing stolen goods, organized retail theft and receiving stolen property, seizing cigarettes, paperwork and cash from his store, the MR Supermarket.

The newspaper reported that the Mercer County prosecutor and local police had built a case by working with Rite Aid’s loss-prevention specialists. Rite Aid contacted county authorities after a string of thefts from one of its stores on Trenton’s South Broad Street. The report also noted that in most cases such as this, merchants will purchase stolen items for 15% to 25% of their retail value, allowing them to undercut the retailers from which they were stolen.