BURLESON, Texas — The arrests of two suspects led investigators to the discovery of more than $1.7 million worth of gift cards in a North Texas hotel room, police said.
The case began June 27 when Burleson police officers were tipped off to a report of fraud at Home Depot stores in the area, according to a police news release.
When officers found the suspects' vehicle, they were leaving a Target store in the 200 block of Northwest John Jones Drive, next to a home depot. Police pulled the men over on a traffic violation and found "a large number of gift cards in plain view" -- more than 1,000 gift cards in total, according to the release.
Police said the cards were "neatly packaged and organized in bundles and boxes."
The officers took the two suspects into custody and continued investigating the case. The investigation ultimately led police to a hotel in Carrollton that was linked to the suspects, police said. When officers obtained a search warrant for the Carrollton hotel room, they found 4,017 gift cards with an estimated value of $1,720,050.
The suspects, whose names have not been released, face charges of theft of property over $300,000 and fraud.
Police described the suspects as being part of a "sophisticated multi-state gift card tampering ring." More information about the case has not been released.
Numerous agencies investigated the case, including Burleson police, Fort Worth police, the U.S. Secret Service Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security, Colleyville police, Euless police, Carrollton police, the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center and Home Depot's and Target's organized retail crimes teams.