Maine State Police, along with local and federal agencies, said Oct. 3 that they broke up a retail theft ring involving hundreds of products taken from Walmart and then sold on eBay.

Homes searched in Bangor, Bucksport and Frankfort Thursday produced more than $240,000 in cash, as well as a large number of stolen items, according to State Police spokesman Steve McCausland, in news release.

Items included Star War Legos, Crest Whitestrips, Nicorette gum, razor blades, animal flea and tick treatments, archery equipment and a 46-inch screen television. 

No one has yet been charged in connection with the theft ring, but police said they will consult with the district attorney’s offices and charges are likely, the release said.

The Walmarts targeted were in Palmyra, Bangor, Brewer and Ellsworth.   

An investigation led by State Police Detective Chris Tupper of the Computer Crimes Unit and Trooper Chris Crawford uncovered the alleged criminal enterprise run by a man from his home in Bucksport and a woman from her home in Frankfort, police said.

The man was allegedly buying stolen merchandise and then selling the items online. 

The man and his girlfriend were living in an apartment in Bucksport where a large quantity of suspected stolen merchandise was recovered, the release said. 

In addition, the house in Frankfort was being used as a storage location for some of the stolen items and cash. Police seized more than $100,000 in cash from the Frankfort home, along with bars of silver. They found another $140,000 in a safe deposit box at a Bucksport bank.

Although not charged in connection with the theft ring, the resident of the house in Frankfort was arrested Thursday after she brandished a handgun at troopers and federal agents, who were serving the search warrant.  

Police charged Jane Tardiff, 67, with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and transported her to the Waldo County Jail in Belfast, where she was later released on bail. 

Information gathered from the searches in Bucksport and Frankfort later led investigators to Bangor, where search warrants were served at a home and a pawn shop, said police.

Other agencies assisting State Police included Bangor and Bucksport police, Homeland Security investigators, Walmart Global investigators and Maine Welfare Fraud investigators. 

Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657.