Trio Charged With Snatching $1K Worth of Clothes From Saks Fifth Avenue in Boca Raton

Rohan Aggarwal, Aiesha Babulal and Ali bin Shahid. (Photos: Palm Beach County Jail)

Security personnel at the Sak’s Fifth Avenue store in Boca Raton caught three people “shopping” for clothing in the store before stuffing the items in a bag and walking out without paying, police allege. The New York trio were arrested and have since been released on bond.

According to a police report, the theft occurred July 2 at about 6 p.m. at the Boca Town Center mall in the Saks Fifth Avenue store, as a loss prevention employee was monitoring the surveillance cameras. The employee told officers three people were huddled in a circle when one man dropped a part of shorts into a shopping bag that a woman was holding. Meanwhile, the other man in the group “acted as a shield,” the report said. The group then walked over to the women’s department, where one of the men allegedly “selected a dress and put it inside the bag.”

“They passed all points of sale and exited the store,” the report said, at which point two loss prevention officers stopped the group outside and called police, who confirmed the incident after reviewing security video.

According to the report, officers saw numerous items being stolen from the store, including the dress, an orange shoe box, and green shorts. The merchandise totaled $1,025, store employees told police.

Aiesha Babulal, 22, of Patchogue, N.Y., Rohan Aggarwal, 22, of Plainview, N.Y., and Ali bin Shahid, whose hometown was not available, were all charged with larceny-grand theft of items between $750 and $5,000. The three suspects were released after posting $5,000 bond.