IRVINE, Calif. - A man and woman from Tijuana were arrested in Irvine on Tuesday after a multi-store shoplifting spree involving the targeted theft of Lego minifigures.
According to police, the duo allegedly purchased sets and immediately returned them to customer service after removing the high-value figures.
What we know:
Officers at the Spectrum location were alerted to suspicious activity involving a man and woman at Target, police said.
The suspects, later identified as 29-year-old Adriana Esquerra Gonzalez and 30-year-old Luis Alfredo Quintanilla Pompa, allegedly removed the minifigures from the boxes, and then attempted to return the tampered sets for a full refund.
Further investigation revealed the pair had successfully executed this scam at five other retail locations earlier that same day, officials said.
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A subsequent search of their vehicle uncovered a variety of stolen Lego components.
What's next:
Gonzalez and Poma were taken into custody and both are facing shoplifting charges.
Authorities are continuing to coordinate with regional loss prevention teams to determine if other stores were targeted in this specific spree.
The Source: This report is based on information from the Irvine Police Department.