ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Deputies have dubbed a local man the “Al Capone of organized retail theft.” New video shows the moments police finally caught him last month. 

Now deputies say Raul Garcia’s arrest dismantled the largest fencing operation in the metro. 

“He had just made a sale which included an item that he believed was stolen and had a GPS tracking device on it from one of the victim’s stores,” said an undercover sergeant.  

KOB 4 talked to the sergeant behind the operation, and we’re concealing his identity because he works undercover.

“There aren’t many that function at the rate that Raul was,” the sergeant said. 

He says Garcia ran a pyramid of shoplifters with him at the top and career shoplifters directly underneath who then recruited people who were mostly stealing for drug money. One of those middle men – or in Garcia’s case, women – is allegedly Marileysei Campos. 

Deputies say she and others at her level would make money by selling stolen stuff to Garcia, who would turn around and resell it to unknowing people in the community. 

“$100 bottle of perfume, they would sell it for $20. He would turn around and sell it for $50 to $60 So he was still making money on it, but it was still on a price not even wholesalers could match,” the sergeant said.  

The sergeant says they hit places like Winrock, including Ulta and TJ Maxx. Coronado Center was another popular go-to, and places near a bus stop where city drivers often became unwilling getaway drivers. 

“Originally this started out with lingerie from Victoria’s Secret, and that’s where we got the first information on one of the conspirators,” said the undercover sergeant. 

Rei and Petsmart were frequent victims too, with people stealing up to $3,000 of items at a time. 

“Most of the businesses involved in this case most of their profits have almost immediately risen, and the reports that I’ve gotten is the theft has gone from large amounts to ‘onesies’ and ‘twosies’ is what they refer to them as,” said the sergeant. 

Meaning a hundred or so dollars compared to the few thousand. The sergeant says this arrest sends a strong message not only to the low level shoplifters, but to those leading the operations too. 

“It will help us dismantle these criminal organizations because we learn a little bit more about how they operate even as they’re changing as we’re making these arrests,” said the sergeant.  

Garcia is facing several charges, including organized retail crime and money laundering. He will be in jail until his trial.