MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade police arrested three women last week who they said stole from at least 32 Walgreens and CVS stores throughout the county.
Crystal Pereda, 27, and her sister, Jazmin Pereda, 21, were arrested July 26. The third suspect, Jennifer Tejeda, 33, was arrested the following day.
According to their arrest reports, the thefts were reported from April through July.
Detectives said the women would enter the stores and fill their purses with various women's cosmetic items.
During the investigation, detectives identified a fourth woman, Ihosvania Guerra-Ferrerio, 50, who they said was purchasing the stolen cosmetics so she could resell them.
"They are walking into these stores, and they are stealing something. They are getting it for free, so their profit margin is 100 percent. They're making just pure profit on this," Miami-Dade police Sgt. Carlos Rosario said.
Authorities executed a search warrant Tuesday at Guerra-Ferrerio's home in the 2800 block of Southwest 79th Court and found 6,982 cosmetic items valued at $69,368.63, authorities said.
"The bottom line here is that this is a money-making operation for this underground organization that, at the end, is affecting our consumers here," Rosario said. "If these businesses are losing money to shoplifters, they have to raise the prices."
Guerra-Ferrerio was arrested on a charge of dealing in stolen property.
The other suspects face grand theft charges.