Calgary police say they’ve charged two seniors in connection with a scheme involving the resale of shoplifted goods at a local flea market.

On October 25, police officers attended a flea market in the 1300 block of 5 Avenue N.W. after receiving a tip from another retailer that the goods were being sold illegally.

Officers soon found one of the retailers selling what appeared to be stolen clothing and toiletry items.

A further investigation was launched on October 28, with police executing search warrants on a van and a home in the 1400 block of 19 Avenue N.W.

Police found stolen new clothing, toiletry items, and camping equipment worth an estimated $56,000, believed to be stolen from a number of different retail stores.

Two people have been charged in connection with the incident.

Sonia Kereluk, 75, is charged with possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking in stolen property. She is expected to appear in court on December 18.

William Henry Fisher, 69, is charged with possession of stolen property of the purpose of trafficking. He is expected to appear in court on December 3.

Police say they are particularly concerned about this type of behaviour because it is typically used to fund other, more serious, crimes such as purchasing drugs or weapons.

Cst. Lara Sampson with the CPS Organized Retail Crime Team says that these two people were business partners at the flea market, but there is no link between them and any sort of more serious crime.

She says they were using the money for personal reasons and adds that their age really had nothing to do with the fact that the crimes took place.

"I don't think age is actually going to deteremine whether they're committing crime or not. It's hard times and they were able to make money from this selling illegal property," Sampson said. "Were they the ones stealing the property to begin with? We haven't been able to detemine that, but through organized retail crime, what we do know is low level boosters typically take the items and bring them to the location where the item is being sold or to where they know people are selling it and usually get 30 cents to the dollar on newly stolen merchandise."

Sampson says this type of crime is a growing problem in Canada, costing retailers an estimated $4B every year.

“It’s a loss to the community. Shoplifting in the community seems low-level, but you can help by not purchasing these items.”

Residents can avoid buying these stolen items by being aware of the following:

  • Only buy goods from licenced businesses
  • Be wary of the price of goods – if they’re way below typical value, it could be a problem
  • Retailers should know where they received their goods and why it’s being sold so cheaply. If their story doesn’t add up, it could be concerning
  • On online advertisements, if sellers have only new goods and aren’t a registered business, it could be a red flag

Anyone with information on organized shoplifting or stolen goods being offered for sale is asked to report it to the Calgary Police Service non-emergency line at 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
TEXT: tttTIPS to 27463