Lululemon theft ring revealed: Organized crew suspected behind wave of shoplifted gear

Court documents obtained by CBC item the interior workings of a multi-level organized ringing of stolen goods traffickers allegedly directing prolific shoplifters who person stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars worthy of clothes from Lululemon stores crossed the Lower Mainland.

Search warrant and civilian forfeiture materials assertion a Burnaby antheral charged past twelvemonth successful a high-profile probe into stolen cogwheel was successful interaction with a Surrey pistillate whose location was raided by constabulary this March — yielding $175,000 worthy of stolen goods and cosmetics.

And adjacent arsenic he was beginning to defend himself against transgression charges of trafficking successful stolen property, Surrey RCMP investigators assertion the antheral was inactive "placing orders" with a street-level shoplifter "on what to steal."

'Knowledge of worldwide retail pricing'

The web of radical allegedly behind the thefts is described successful a warrant RCMP obtained successful March to hunt the location and conveyance of a Surrey pistillate named Yawen Zeng who is accused of operating successful an "organizing role" in a trafficking ring.

Zeng has not been charged criminally, but B.C.'s manager of civilian forfeiture filed a B.C. Supreme Court suit against her past month, citing the galore items of stolen covering recovered successful her store arsenic grounds her location was bought, successful part, done the proceeds of crime.

The hunt warrant details WhatsApp conversations where Zeng allegedly discussed prices and request for specific Lululemon gear — including 1 asking for "skin creams" due to the fact that of "worldwide competition" successful which "Canadian terms is higher than Asian oregon Europe."

"I judge this was a important connection due to the fact that it showed Zeng's cognition of worldwide retail pricing and that she apt shipped and sold products successful assorted planetary markets," wrote Const. Chris Tessarolo, the RCMP serviceman who obtained the warrant.

"[This suggests] that she would beryllium susceptible of being successful a co-ordinating relation for organized retail crime."

According to the hunt warrant, the RCMP's probe began past November erstwhile constabulary began pursuing Minh Ngoc Ta — a Lethbridge antheral who is presently facing aggregate charges relating to theft from Lululemon stores crossed the Lower Mainland.

Police mounted surveillance and watched arsenic Ta allegedly took thousands of dollars worthy of merchandise in grab-and-run thefts in the days earlier Christmas — hitting the Lululemon store successful Surrey's Morgan Crossing promenade 5 times successful the abstraction of a week.

Beyond carnal surveillance, RCMP besides obtained information for Ta's telephone conversations — which allegedly showed him in communication immediately earlier and after the thefts with Manishkumar Sureshbhai Patel, 1 of 2 men charged past twelvemonth with fencing Lululemon gear.

And truthful RCMP began reviewing the constabulary files connected that investigation.

The suspects utilized SkyTrain arsenic a 'getaway vehicle'

The bureau to first alert the public to the beingness of a "large-scale, organized" Lululemon theft cognition was Transit Police; they got progressive due to the fact that radical selling stolen merchandise done Facebook Marketplace had used SkyTrain arsenic a "getaway vehicle."

At a quality league past August, investigators said they had seized 800 items of Lululemon cogwheel and arrested 2 men, but nary charges had been filed.

That changed successful October, when Patel and Manan Chandreshkumar Shah were charged with 2 counts each of possession for the intent of trafficking and trafficking successful stolen Lululemon property.

A lawyer for some men — who are cousins — declined comment, but said her clients are pleading not guilty. A preliminary enquiry successful the lawsuit is acceptable for adjacent month.

As portion of the RCMP investigation, Tessarolo reviewed Transit Police logs of Patel's communications with "prolific Lululemon thieves"  — including Amber Cristina Rolston and Aaron Knight, a Surrey mates with his-and-hers bans from entering immoderate Lululemon store successful British Columbia.

"I reviewed messages that showed Knight negotiating percentages that helium wanted connected items that Patel had requested helium bargain from Lululemon. In immoderate cases, Knight and Patel would haggle to get the percent they desired," Tessarolo writes.

"Multiple photographs were sent by Patel to Knight, which were taken from the Lululemon website depicting images of leggings, jackets and different assorted Lululemon products accompanied by directions and requests arsenic if orders were being placed by Patel to Knight for what to steal."

The Transit Police record besides included messages successful which Zeng allegedly told Patel, "The Lululemon pants she was receiving from him had not sold yet, and she could not instrumentality immoderate more."

"Zeng and Patel discussed prices," the hunt warrant says. "And Zeng told Patel that she believed she could get amended prices elsewhere."

Tessarolo noted that Zeng did not person a transgression grounds oregon immoderate past of low-level retail theft.

"This made maine judge that Zeng was disconnected from the thefts successful much of an organizing relation wherever she whitethorn beryllium fencing stolen products that Patel would nonstop her from low-level retail thieves," the RCMP serviceman wrote.

'Recent instances of obtaining stolen property'

Patel and Shah made their archetypal appearances successful Vancouver provincial tribunal successful mid-October.

Starting 2 months later, betwixt December 12, 2024 and January 5, 2025, RCMP allegedly recorded 558 "events" — telephone calls oregon messages — betwixt Patel and Minh Ngoc Ta, the accused Lululemon thief.

"These patterns showed that Patel was placing orders with Ta connected what to steal," Tessarolo wrote.

"From this, I believed that Patel had caller instances of obtaining stolen spot and would apt inactive beryllium communicating with Zeng to obstruction the stolen property."

As a result, Surrey RCMP "shifted its probe to Zeng," combing done her garbage and enlisting the assistance of a "Lululemon Asset Protection Specialist" who provided them with a "scanning device" susceptible of speechmaking wireless tags stores spot wrong the clothes.

According to the warrant, the scanners enactment from a region of 30 metres, and tin work the income past associated with the tags to archer investigators whether an point has ever legitimately cleared the store floor.

Officers conducted a scan of Zeng's location from a nationalist roadway and backstage property, allegedly locating 18 Lululemon items "listed arsenic having been stolen from assorted stores successful the Greater Vancouver area."

In paperwork filed with the tribunal aft the execution of the hunt warrant, constabulary assertion to person recovered hundreds of Lululemon items, bulk acquisition cards and reams of Chanel cosmetics successful Zeng's house.

They besides seized a baggie containing $5,000 from the glove container of her Honda.

'I don't spot myself continuing honestly'

Zeng has not responded to the suit and could not beryllium reached for comment.

The CBC has obtained copies of tribunal documents and recordings of transgression proceedings involving the prolific shoplifters named successful the hunt warrant. 

The tribunal grounds speaks to nationalist concerns astir a alleged 'revolving door' bail strategy that sees repetition offenders released from custody astir arsenic soon arsenic they are caught for caller offences.

Minh Ngoc Ta, the 33-year-old who sparked the investigation, appeared successful Surrey provincial tribunal Monday aft being taken into custody successful caller days pursuing 5 releases in the past six months portion awaiting proceedings connected a increasing database of theft charges.

In April — the past clip Ta was fto retired of custody — he was successful a reverse onus presumption to beryllium helium shouldn't enactment successful jailhouse portion the proceedings play out, but a judge released him into the attraction of a betterment programme connected a committedness not to "attend" immoderate Lululemon store successful B.C.

Arrest warrants were issued erstwhile helium failed to show up for a regular quality successful May, and Ta present faces 24 theft charges successful Vancouver, West Vancouver, Langley, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey.

His adjacent quality is acceptable for Thursday.

After Aaron Knight failed 3 times to comply with bail conditions that saw him barred from Bass Pro Shop, Marshalls, Winners and Lululemon, helium was ordered into custody successful May to await a pre-sentencing report next period connected a raft of theft convictions.

Knight's partner — Amber Cristina Rolston — is besides successful custody connected charges that see breaching the conditions imposed successful September 2024, the past clip she pleaded blameworthy to stealing from Lululemon.

At that hearing, a authoritative work from a database of crimes.

Rolston stole from a Burnaby Lululemon twice successful erstwhile day. She and Knight took $16,000 worthy of leggings from an Abbotsford Lululemon. And the brace took $4,222 of men's covering from a Lululemon downtown.

"What we spot present is basically, she's rapidly escalating. She's stealing high-value items. She's successful breach of her undertaking not to beryllium successful Lululemon," the authoritative said.

"There's truly precocious frequence here. And there's a precocious value."

Rolston was 32 astatine the time. The prosecutor described her arsenic "pleasant." Her lawyer said she has struggled with heroin addiction and was surviving connected income assistance.

"I'm precise remorseful and embarrassed," Rolston told Judge Patricia Stark.

"I don't spot myself continuing, honestly. I don't similar this revolving doorway of the strategy I've enactment myself in."

Stark appeared shocked by the situation.

"You walked retired the doorway and fundamentally wrong 4 days were stealing again," she told Rolston.

"These are not victimless crimes. You whitethorn deliberation erstwhile you spell to these stores that cipher suffers. But radical bash suffer. People ain those stores. People enactment astatine those stores. People bargain from those stores."

Rolston was ordered to walk different 30 days successful jailhouse — and to enactment distant from Lululemon.