‘They spend their lives stealing from us’: Romanian women arrested in Martin County

By Ari Hait

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    STUART, Florida (WPBF) — Two women from Romania were arrested along with a 14-year-old boy in Martin County, accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from stores across the state.

“What we were hit with was an international ring of traveling criminals,” said Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.

Elena and Eugenia Dunca are both charged with grand theft.

WPBF 25 News is not releasing the boy’s name, because he is charged as a juvenile.

Snyder said the manager of a CVS in Stuart contacted his deputies last week to tell them someone had just practically emptied a few shelves in her store.

“They actually have false pockets sewn into their dresses,” Snyder said. “So, they’re able to walk out with two, three thousand dollars’ worth of high-end cosmetics at a time.”

Snyder said these same alleged thieves had robbed CVS stores around the state, and their pictures and vehicle description had been circulated among all of the stores.

The manager at the Stuart CVS showed that information to the deputy who was investigating at her store, and he shared it with the rest of the sheriff’s office.

Snyder said another deputy spotted the suspects at another CVS just a few miles down the road.

“Within an hour, we had the suspects in custody,” Snyder said. “And then we determined they actually hit four stores while they were here.”

Along with the two CVS stores, Snyder said the suspects also robbed two Walgreens stores.

And the sheriff said theft like this isn’t just the stores’ problem, it’s everybody’s.

According to the sheriff’s office, retailers in Florida lost $5.421 billion in revenue due to theft in 2022 and another $5.888 billion in return fraud in that same year.

Snyder said that leads to increased prices across the board, and that’s why he believes it was so important to arrest the Duncas.

“They will steal anything that’s not tied down,” Snyder said. “These people have no scruples. They do not care about Western values. And they spend their entire life, day after day, stealing from us.”

Snyder said both Duncas were referred to federal immigration authorities.

The 14-year-old boy was sent to the county’s juvenile justice facility.

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