$137,000 in stolen tobacco products recovered in Oakland, arrest made

OAKLAND, Calif. - An Oakland man was arrested in connection to the theft of more than $137,000 in stolen and unregulated tobacco products, California Highway Patrol announced Monday. 

Bashar Saleh Mohamed Nagi, 35, of Oakland was arrested and booked on charges related to theft and possession of the stolen products. 

The tobacco recovery was part of an investigation led by CHP's Cargo Theft Interdiction Program (CTIP). Several search warrants were issued Nov. 30, CHP said. 

Officials said the investigation focused on cigarette and tobacco products that were stolen from various areas of Northern California. 

"These are products these business fronts are selling for massive amount of profits," said CHP officer Andrew Barclay. "Right now they're being processed as evidence to do an investigation as to where they may have come from and things like that so there's still a lot of work being done behind the scenes." 

Oakland Police Department, and Alameda County Sheriff's Office assisted with this operation. 

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration also participated in the investigation after it was discovered businesses that were searched had been selling tobacco products with out-of-state, or even no California tax stamps. 

"CTIP investigators were able to obtain warrants for multiple locations in the city of Oakland, resulting in the arrest of one person who was involved in theft of cigarettes," the news release said. 

One residence and three Oakland storefronts were searched and large amounts of stolen products were seized. 

In addition, investigators also located suspected stolen retail items from Target, Safeway, and Old Navy. Those items totaled more than $5,000. 

Barclay said investigators are looking at products being stolen from distributors prior to getting to merchants. He said thefts like this can turn violent. 

KTVU reporter Amber Lee contributed to this story.