SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle police are arresting 22 cab drivers accused of trafficking in stolen property. The arrests announced Thursday come after a 10-week undercover operation that targeted what police call an open air market for stolen goods that’s been operating in the Westlake Avenue area of downtown Seattle.
The project was launched to deal with significant increases in downtown retail theft.
Surveillance showed shoplifters taking stolen goods to a cab stand near the Westin Hotel and peddling them to drivers waiting there for fares. Police followed up with an undercover detective posing as a shoplifter.
Police note there are 2,500 licensed taxi drivers in the greater Seattle area. They say there is no evidence that drivers at other cab stands took part and no evidence to suggest that all drivers at this location were involved.
