$200,000 in stolen leggings are seized

Call it a tight squeeze: Investigators with the California Highway Patrol have recovered more than $200,000 worth of stolen merchandise from athletic apparel maker Lululemon, officials announced this week.

The CHP Border Division’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force was alerted to three large boxes containing stolen goods shipped from Ohio and destined for an apartment in La Habra this month. When investigators delivered the merchandise to the apartment, they found other similar boxes and obtained a search warrant.

The investigation revealed a total of 16 boxes inside the apartment, each filled with stolen Lululemon leggings. In all, “there were 1,861 stolen items seized and inventoried with a retail value of $203,688,” CHP said in a news release.

The products were stolen from Lululemon locations throughout the country, including stores in Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin, officials said.

A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, according to the CHP, a representative said it is the largest recovery of stolen items in the company’s history.

“The investigation is ongoing, and the apartment residents claimed no knowledge of what the boxes contained,” CHP added.