Two men have been charged in connection with selling stolen property at a flea market in Edmonton.
The two men were arrested by police at two different booths at a flea market in downtown Edmonton on Saturday.
Officers searched the booths and found approximately $50,000-worth of stolen property.
Tony Barros, 52 and Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, 47 have been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and attempted possession of stolen property.
Investigators believe many of the items seized at the flea market were allegedly stolen from retail stores throughout the city, and include items such as BluRay discs, DVDs, gaming controllers and Nicorette nicotine patches.
Police haven't yet matched the goods to their rightful owners.
They say consumers should keep an eye out to make sure they are buying legitimate items.
"New retail items, freshly released that are for sale at prices below wholesale" said Staff Sgt. Dave Berry with the Edmonton Police Service.
A local second-hand shop owner says before he opened up his store he bought and sold items at flea markets.
Trevor Chekowski is relieved police are taking the steps to bust illegitimate sellers in Edmonton.
"There were things selling for way under market value or even way under garage sale value that kind of makes you think a little bit," he said.
Berry alleges the pair charged was likely part of a much larger operation.
"There are professional shoplifters also known as boosters that are going out and stealing large volume of material and then selling it at a discount rate to the middle person or vendor who's then putting it up for re-sale himself."
Police are now working with the City of Edmonton and management at the flea market to identify ways to prevent the selling and purchasing of stolen property.
They say flea market shoppers should be wary of any items in their original packaging, especially if the items are being sold at cheap prices.
With files from Laura Tupper
