A Miami-Dade shop owner has been arrested after police said he was stocking his shelves with stolen items and had a large amount of counterfeit cigar items.
Jorge Gomero, 52, was arrested Monday on charges including grand theft, dealing in stolen property, possessing counterfeit labels, and forging or counterfeiting private labels, arrest reports said.
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According to the reports, Miami-Dade Police and investigators from major retailers and supermarkets have been investigating a group of individuals who have been stealing retail items including clothing and health and beauty supplies.
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After one suspect was arrested, he told detectives he was selling the items he was stealing to Gomero at his business, El Baraton, at 4746 W. Flagler Street, the reports said.
Detectives watched as people were seen entering the store with garbage bags and other bags containing merchandise, then leaving empty handed.
Undercover investigators then went to the store posing as people wanting to buy or sell stolen items and conducted several purchases and transactions
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On Jan. 30, and undercover detective sold items to Gomero's wife at the store which included over-the-counter medications and Adidas baseball caps, the reports said.
She paid $115 for the items, which had a retail value of $405.56, the reports said.
The undercover detective asked her if she needed anything and she replied Tylenol and Advil, the reports said.
The detective also looked around the store and saw designer clothing, perfumes and colognes, over-the-counter medications and health and beauty items, all for sale at prices below retail, the reports said.
More undercover sales were made with Gomero at the store in February, including one where he negotiated a price of $200 for items with a retail value of $2,624.08, and another where he paid $200 for items with a retail value of $1,980.41, the reports said.
On March 6, an undercover detective was paid $250 by Gomero for $2,304.67 worth of items, the reports said.
During the sale, Gomero complimented the detective as "being professional and clean in the manner he brought the merchandise in the suitcase to the business" adding "the other individuals he deals with bring the merchandise in bags all disorganized," the reports said.
Officers executed a search warrant at the business on Monday and recovered over $28,000 worth of stolen merchandise, the reports said.
When officers entered the back of the business, they found Gomero surrounded by cigar boxes, labels and other packaging for known brands including Cohiba, Monte Cristo, Romeo Y Julieta, Partagas and Bolivar.
All of the boxes and labels were separated by brand, and there were cedar box liners and glue to affix the labels, which was consistent with the manufacture of counterfeit cigar products, the reports said.
In total, there were 4,499 boxes of various cigar brands with an estimated value of over $1,124,000, along with several thousand labels, ribbons and certificates that experts determined were counterfeit, the reports said.
Gomero went before a judge Tuesday, where he was granted bond but must show the source of the bond money is legitimate.
