Baby formula, razors ‘professionally shoplifted' from Atlanta

Several million dollars worth of infant formula, razors and other merchandise was "professionally shoplifted" from Atlanta stores and then re-sold in New York, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Tony Tavares of New York and the business he operated, Brooklyn Tobacco Wholesalers, Inc., were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Atlanta on charges of conspiring with and aiding others in shipping stolen merchandise in interstate commerce.

Tavares regularly purchased stolen merchandise from two businesses located in Atlanta: Primo Food Market located at 533 Griffin Street and and M & M Grocery located at 911 Simpson Road, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said.

Employees at the Atlanta stores purchased stolen merchandise consisting primarily of infant formula and razors from professional shoplifters, Yates said.

At regular intervals the stolen merchandise was loaded onto rental trucks in Atlanta and driven to Brooklyn, N.Y., where Tavares would personally supervise the unloading of the stolen merchandise, Yates said.

There, any store labels, price labels, and security codes would be removed from the stolen merchandise using a cleaning solvent, Yates said. Then, the stolen merchandise was sold to wholesale and retail businesses in New York and elsewhere.