A Palos Heights man is facing a felony charge after detectives uncovered more than $250,000 in stolen merchandise stashed inside his home and a Bridgeview storage unit, the result of a months-long investigation that started with hunting boots.
Almahdi Qasem, 20, has been charged with theft over $100,000 but less than $500,000, a Class 1 felony.
More charges are likely, with investigators pointing to possible wire fraud and continuing criminal enterprise counts.
Qasem turned himself in at the Palos Heights Police Department on August 15 and was cited and released pending a court appearance at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
The case began in May when Sitka, a high-end hunting apparel company, reported about $40,000 worth of stolen boots.
A company investigator noticed identical boots on resale sites and ordered a pair. The return address pointed to Palos Heights.
“That one purchase opened the floodgates,” Deputy Chief John Parnitzke said. “The same account selling those boots was also selling shoes, electronics, vacuums, and one by one, we confirmed they were stolen – it just kept snowballing.”
Working with the Cook County Sheriff’s Community Response Team, detectives made undercover purchases before serving search warrants on July 16. Police searched Qasem’s Palos Heights home and a storage facility in the 9800 block of Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview.
Inside, they recovered piles of stolen items: Sitka boots, Nike and Puma shoes, LG computer monitors, Skytech gaming gear, headphones, blenders, children’s clothing, and even dozens of Bissell vacuums.
They also seized U.S. currency, two bank accounts tied to the sales, and two vehicles used in the operation.
“In 15 years here, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Parnitzke said. “We weren’t talking about one or two items, we were unloading truckloads that filled up our garage.”
Detectives traced the merchandise to freight containers targeted as they moved through Illinois from ports in California. The containers often stop in Elwood or Chicago, where thefts have become common.
“This is an organized crime syndicate stealing from freight,” Parnitzke said. “Where (Qasem) fits in is hard to say, what we’ve seen so far points to him acting as the reseller – the fence – for a huge amount of stolen goods.”
Parnitzke also urged caution when buying from resale sites like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Mercari.
“If someone has hundreds of the same item and they’re selling them below market value, you should be asking questions,” he said. “That’s a red flag that something isn’t right.”
Most of the stolen merchandise has already been returned to retailers including Sitka, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bissell, and others.
“This was a unique one for us,” Parnitzke said. “It showed just how big these freight theft operations can get, and how the goods end up in small communities like ours.”