Stories like these are made for good films — although the very real consequences are not so entertaining. It all started when a series of smash-and-grab car thefts had occurred in the San Francisco area. In response, police officials initiated “Operation Auto Pilot,” a large investigation into car theft burglary rings. Since its inception a year ago, the San Francisco Police Department has recovered over $100,000 worth of stolen goods.
For a while, the culprits were difficult to catch. That is until investigators linked with rental car companies and local nonprofits to bait and surveil thieves who were breaking into cars and selling the items. The plan worked and led investigators to a small boba tea and juice shop by the name of Quickly, a cover for the operation.
Quoc Le, husband of the owner of the Quickly cafe in San Francisco, was arrested and charged with 12 counts, ranging from felony possession of stolen property and several misdemeanor charges. He’s being accused of accepting stolen goods and selling the items online to international markets.
“Through [search warrants], investigators were able to establish a pattern of Mr. Le buying and selling stolen goods from all over the Bay Area out of his business,” read a statement from the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. “Mr. Le’s large operation involved shipping stolen goods to Southern California and internationally to countries like Vietnam and Hong Kong.”
Apparently, people would break into cars and steal items such as, laptops, phones, radios, wallets, and shopping bags, then go to Quickly and drop the items off, without even purchasing a boba tea to cover their tracks. When detectives used tracking devices to search for items, pings showed that the stolen goods were being kept in a room next door to the tea shop.
A total of 130 boxes of stolen items, $13,000 in cash, and 1,000 electronic products were recovered from Quickly by investigators. Le’s wife was not implicated in the crimes, but the public humiliation and criminalization of her beloved cafe has already tarnished the business.
A look at the wild Yelp reviews show that customers complained of the professionalism and cleanliness of Quickly, along with the outrageous prices and poor quality products. But, most important of all, customers commented on “the business on the side” being a little weird, hinting at the extracurricular activities going on, as first reported by Jessica Flores of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The San Francisco District Attorney and Police Department expect for more businesses to be implicated in the burglary rings in the near future.
