PANAMA CITY — The people stealing bras and baby formula might seem relatively harmless compared to abusive spouses or drug dealers, but sometimes their ill-gotten gains reach the Middle East and wind up financing a terror attack.
That might be what happened in a sprawling case investigated over several years by Special Agent Scott Springer with the Department of Homeland Security. The investigation led to dozens of arrests and seizures, and the conspirators at several points plotted to kill Springer, he said.
Imagine Detective Jimmy McNulty, the fictional protagonist in the television series "The Wire," explaining to students the techniques he and other officers used to investigate Stringer Bell and Marlo Stanfield. Substitute stolen baby formula for cocaine and heroin and you've got a pretty good picture of Springer's investigation.
But it's not just baby formula. Organized rings of thieves steal prescription drugs, over the counter medications, razor blades, computer equipment and guns and sell through "fences," stores that pass off the stolen merchandise as legitimate.
Organized thieves have been known to hijack truckloads of merchandise, Springer said, but they often operate on a smaller scale. For example, Panama City Police last year arrested five women from Georgia at Pier Park on charges of stealing thousands of dollars from stores like Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works.
"They don't all steal that stuff and go home and wear it," Springer said.
Springer's investigation led to charges against a ringleader of an international criminal organization and the leaders of four cells with ties to Islamic radicals, he said.
Organized retail theft is a $30 billion a year industry. While Springer was able to trace the money from a baby formula black market overseas as far as Jordan, he's still not certain the money ended up with foreign terrorists.
"I got asked all the time: 'Was this case terror financing?' " Springer told a group of students during a presentation on organized retail crime at Florida State University Panama City Tuesday. "I don't care; these were all criminals. They all needed to go to jail. They were all involved in major criminal activity. I can tell you that a bunch of them had known terrorist affiliations."
Springer was able to talk about the details of the investigation because the case had gone to court and the investigative techniques had been made public. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been explaining to students how he and other agents worked undercover and developed confidential informants and wiretaps to eventually bring the case to a close.
"My case is antiquated compared to what they do now," he said.
Springer's presentation Tuesday was the last in a series of "Nole Talks" this semester, said FSU PC Student Activities Coordinator Casey Lathem. The presentations are modeled after TED Talks in which people discuss "Ideas worth spreading," said Marketing and Special Events Coordinator Erica Howard.
Nole Talks will resume next semester, Lathem said. Anyone interested in giving a Nole Talk can contact Lathem at clathem@pc.fsu.edu.