32 arrested in organized retail crime ring at Hamilton Home Depots

Police have arrested 32 people for the theft of over $300,000 worth of power tools from three Home Depot stores in the Hamilton area.

Det. Const. Max Lamont says police worked closely with the retailer in ‘Project Checkout‘ which began in March after a 25 per cent increase in thefts at a number of the hardware stores was noticed.

Investigators allege the group stole from Home Depot stores over 60 times and are accusing them of reselling tools online for below retail value.

Over $300,000 worth of suspected stolen property and a pickup truck valued at $100,000 were recovered at a commercial property and residence. The group is facing 235 criminal charges.

Detectives say in several instances employees were threatened with violence when they attempted to intervene.

“This particular group, which is quite a large one, was entering our stores, very brazenly, taking power tools off the shelf they had a couple of brands that they were particularly targeting, loading them up in carts and walking straight out the front door. When I say cart loads, I mean like 20, 30 articles of power equipment at a time,” says Doug Rajala, divisional asset protection manager for Home Depot Canada.

Rajala says criminal rings like this have become more common since the pandemic, with their stores nation-wide seeing a 20 per cent increase in retail theft year-over-year since around 2023.

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“This is not an example of a shoplifting ring. This is really an example of an organized retail crime ring. These groups are often connected to larger criminal enterprises and networks. So it’s really challenging for our stores to deal with this type of thing,” he says.

Retail theft is not exclusive to Home Depot. The Retail Council of Canada says theft is a $9 billion a year issue across the country.

“If you’re a retailer and you’re making five per cent, you’re really happy at the end of the day. If some of that five per cent is eroded because of shrink or theft, you have to raise prices just to stay in business,” Retail Analyst Bruce Winder says.

Both Home Depot officials and Winder are welcoming recent Criminal Code updates that introduce harsher penalties for organized retail theft.

At the store level, Home Depot is adapting by locking up more expensive items. But they say it is a between securing merchandise and ensuring customers still feel welcome.

Anyone with information about organized retail theft or the trafficking of stolen property is asked to contact Det. Const. Max Lamont at 905-546-2917 or mlamont@hamiltonpolice.ca.

To provide information anonymously, contact Crime Stoppers of Hamilton online or at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

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