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SFPD seize $200,000 in stolen retail items as part of fencing-operation bust

By and KTVU staff
Updated  July 14, 2022 10:57pm PDT
San Francisco Police Department
KTVU FOX 2

SFPD seize $200,000 in stolen retail items as part of fencing-operation bust

A San Francisco man was arrested on suspicion of running a major organized retail theft fencing operation and profiting upwards of half a million dollars annually.

SAN FRANCISCO - Police in San Francisco announced an arrest and the seizure of nearly $200,000 worth of stolen over-the-counter medication and personal care products. 

SFPD said on Thursday that the four-month investigation uncovered an illegal retail theft fencing operation. Police said the investigation launched earlier this year and that information was provided to them by retailers.

Sergio Manuel Puga-Tenorio, 38, of San Francisco was arrested as the primary suspect in the operation. Police obtained a search warrant Wednesday and found the stolen goods in the suspect's Milton Street home in the Ingleside District. 

SFPD seized more than $200,000 worth of over-the-counter medicines and other stolen retail items in an illegal fencing operation investigation. One person was arrested. (Photos courtesy SFPD)

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In the last three years, police said the fencing operation yielded half a million dollars annually. 

"It actually looks more well stocked than some stores I’ve walked into the buy some of these items," SFPD Officer Robert Rueca said. The stolen merchandise included things like vitamins and even Dyson vacuums.

Rueca said Puga-Tenorio is suspected of running the fencing operation from the house, in which he sold the stolen items online to people across the country. 

Investigators are looking for multiple suspects and other people running similar fencing operations in the city. They believe other people are responsible for stealing the items that Puga-Tenorio allegedly sold.

Puga-Tenorio was booked into the San Francisco County Jail on one count of possession of stolen property. 

SFPD seized nearly $200,000 worth of over-the-counter medicines and other stolen retail items in an illegal fencing operation investigation. One person was arrested. (Photos courtesy SFPD)

SFPD seized nearly $200,000 worth of over-the-counter medicines and other stolen retail items in an illegal fencing operation investigation. One person was arrested. (Photos courtesy SFPD)