Seattle police arrested three men and seized thousands of items from a North Seattle coin shop, which investigators believe was fueling Seattle’s drug trade.
Police spent 10 months investigating Seattle Rare Coins in the 8600 block of Aurora Avenue North, and found employees were buying stolen goods and reselling them on eBay and Offerup.com.
Investigators were able to sell purportedly stolen items to the business on a dozen different occasions, and later found some of the items listed for sale online.
On May 18th, North Precinct Anti-Crime Team, North Precinct Bike Squad and Major Crimes Task Force detectives arrested three men at the business and served a search warrant. Police recovered thousands of suspected stolen items, including electronics, power tools, knives, boating gear, clothing, and health and beauty supplies, a handgun and more than $6,000 in cash.
Investigators believe the suspects were buying stolen items for about ten percent of their retail value and were providing a venue for thieves to sell stolen items for cash, which they would later use to purchase narcotics for personal use, often the same day.
