A prime suspect: Caldwell man allegedly swipes $86K in Amazon packages

A Caldwell man serving as a third-party delivery driver for Amazon items has been arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly taking more than $86,000 worth of items, according to the Boise Police Department.

A large-scale theft investigation began earlier this month involving Amazon’s Loss Prevention team and Boise police’s organized retail crime and property crime units. Police said in a news release that the driver worked for a company that picked up merchandise from Amazon facilities and delivered it to the U.S. Postal Service for delivery, and the investigation revealed that between January and May, the suspect made partial deliveries and removed more than 1,000 items from pallets he was responsible for.

“Investigations of this scale are only successful with the collaboration of our retail partners,” Boise Police Detective Plaisted stated in the release. “We’re grateful to Amazon’s Loss Prevention team for quickly identifying and escalating the issue. Criminal operations like this ultimately impact consumers the most, and stopping them helps protect the entire community.”

The 37-year-old driver allegedly sold items he stole on social media and through online auctions. A search by investigators of his home, an associated residence, his vehicle and a storage unit located hundreds of packages, boxes and a warehouse pallet, police said.

Amazon Loss Prevention investigators helped police identify stolen goods and collect other items for further investigation, according to the release.

Grand theft is a felony that can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The suspect is being held at the Ada County Jail.