Three men from Queens were picked up in New Hampshire earlier this week for allegedly hoarding thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise and marijuana, according to a news report.
Arturo Fabian Pineda-Otero, 30, of Flushing, Roger Bustos-Perez, 28, of Elmhurst, and Hernan Avendano-Martinez, 29, of Corona, were pulled over by police for a “minor vehicle violation”on April 4 at about 8:45 p.m. in Laconia, N.H., according to the Laconia Police Department.
The car, which had South Carolina registration, was being driven by Pineda-Otero who had a suspended license. Pineda-Otero was taken into custody for the license and when he was searched, police found “several bags of vegetative matter consistent with marijuana” in his pockets.
Bustos-Perez and Avendano-Martinez told police they had no license so the vehicle was towed. When police inspected the car they found a shopping bag under the front passenger seat covered in duct tape and aluminum foil. It resembled bags used to shield manufacturing retail security devices, police said.
After receiving a warrant, police found several bags in the trunk filled with clothing, cologne and perfume with retail tags still attached to them. The trunk also contained tools used to remove anti-theft devices. In total, the merchandise was worth about $7,500.
Police said Bustos-Perez had an ankle bracelet monitoring device on him and told officers he was on bail out of Fairfax County, V.A on an unknown charge. Avendano-Martinez told officers a similar story.
Laconia police contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement who determined that Bustos-Perez and Avendano-Martinez were in the country illegally from Colombia.
The three men were charged with organized retail crime enterprise and Pineda-Otero was additionally charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a theft detection shielding device.