Tide detergent is becoming liquid gold to criminals [View all]

[Liberal_in_LA]

Loads of Tide thieves clean up nationwide

From Maryland to California, Tide detergent is becoming liquid gold to criminals, who are stealing the bright orange bottles and using them as a form of currency on the streets.

At $15 a pop for Tide in the 100 fluid ounce container, it's not surprising thieves across the country are scrubbing store shelves clean of the laundry detergent.

Earlier this month, a Tide robber from St. Paul stole $25,000 worth of the detergent and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation, according to a story in the Pioneer Press.

And a Maryland supermarket surveillance camera caught a suspect loading his car with 15 to 20 bottles of Tide, hauling them away, and then an accomplice selling the detergent to a nail salon. The footage was aired on an NBC affiliate in Los Angeles, which reported that national retailers such as CVS were taking extra security measures to keep “Tide tied down.”

And it’s not just Tide, the NBC story found. A spokesperson for Ralphs Grocery Stores, a California supermarket chain, said the thieves are also stealing Red Bull and shampoo.

http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/13/10669349-loads-of-tide-thieves-clean-up-nationwide