In one of the more odorless crimes in Southern California, authorities are asking the public for help in locating a toiletry thief who targeted a very specific aisle in a local drug store.
The theft occurred at around 8:40 p.m. on March 17 at a CVS in Agoura Hills, according to a bulletin from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance cameras captured the man walking into the store, where he filled a reusable Target store bag with various deodorant products and walked out without paying for the merchandise.
“The total amount of deodorant stolen was $1,196.98,” the sheriff’s department said.
The suspect was only described as a male Hispanic dressed in blue scrubs over a white t-shirt.
While it’s unclear what exactly the man plans to do with all that deodorant, stolen retail merchandise often ends up on the black market where it is resold at swap meets, by street vendors or other outlets that receive stolen goods.
Late last year, police recovered some $300,000 in stolen retail merchandise in an operation that targeted street vendors.
Former Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore told the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners that authorities working with the recently formed Organized Retail Theft Task Force recovered some $1.2 million in stolen retail merch between August and December of last year and made more than 346 arrests.
The task force was launched in August and is a cooperative effort between LAPD, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol and Beverly Hills, Burbank, Glendale and Santa Monica police departments.
Anyone with information on the toiletry theft in Agoura Hills or who may recognize the suspect in the photos is encouraged to contact the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department at 818-878-1808. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at L.A. Crime Stoppers.