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SANDY — Police arrested 19 people Tuesday in a suspected identity-theft ring, with as many as 200 victims around the state.
Sandy police Sgt. Greg Moffitt said the investigation began with leads about possible drug activity at an apartment complex at 11251 S. State Street and a license plate number connected to a vehicle burglary tied to the same apartment.
"Honestly it was just old-fashioned, good police work, surveillance like that you see in the TV shows — sitting around and watching and waiting," Moffitt told KSL-TV.
After further investigation, officers executed search warrants on the property.
"It was basically just a fraud ring," Moffitt said. "It's basically two apartments in this apartment complex that weren't being used as residences — they were being used as like a headquarters for operation — it's basically how I would explain it."
According to police, officers recovered drugs, as well as a large amount of mail, forms of identification, checks and tax documents — W-2 forms believed to have been stolen from the mail and from vehicle burglaries across the state, including in Carbon, Emery, Duchesne, Summit and Washington counties.
"There is a pile of evidence that is still being processed right now," Moffitt said.
The motive for the alleged crimes remains unclear, police said.
"With this case still ongoing, that's yet to be seen — what really was their intention," Moffitt said.
He said officers are still seeking two additional people they believe are connected to the ring. Police are also in the process of notifying the nearly 200 victims in the case that their information may have been compromised.
As investigators hoped to uncover more answers, they also were grateful they were able to make a bust of this scale.
"We feel like that's actually a win on our end to kind of just, for lack of a better term, nip it in the bud," Moffitt said. "You're getting handed this puzzle and being able to put that puzzle together and come out with an outcome like this — man, it's awesome."
