Arrests In Hodgkins Organized Cargo Theft: Cops

HODGKINS, IL – Three people were charged Thursday in the theft of nearly $300,000 in retail cargo, including more than 200 televisions, authorities said.

Baraa Abuowda, 36, of Orland Park; Sammih Kasem, 28, of Orland Hills; and Imad Qendah, 40, of Burbank, were each arrested on four counts of felony theft.

In a news release, Attorney General Kwame Raoul accused the three people of stealing a shipping container full of pallets of televisions that were in transit by railroad to be sold at a store.

"Organized retail crime is not limited to occurring at brick-and-mortar retailers and can instead take place anywhere along the supply chain," Raoul said in the release.

The charges stem from a multi-jurisdictional, month-long investigation by the Attorney General's Office, BNSF Railway police and Hodgkins police.

According to the indictments, investigators used GPS tracking from shipping containers to find the stolen cargo, which had been moved from railyards to a business in suburban Bridgeview.

Investigators used video and in-person surveillance to confirm that the stolen merchandise was being unloaded from the containers at this location, authorities said. The stolen televisions were recovered.