WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- Baby formula was the fourth-most taken item by U.S. shoplifters last year and some investigators say the thefts may end up funding suspected terrorist groups.
The Washington-based Food Marketing Institute said theft of baby formula totaled $7 billion in 2004, the Christian Science Monitor reported Wednesday.
Some thefts were carried out by rings with links to Middle East groups and several Middle Eastern businessmen have been charged in connection with baby-formula thefts, the Monitor said.
Texas' Operation Blackbird investigated a formula theft ring that led to felony charges against more than 40 people and the seizure of $1 million worth of formula. The FBI tracked the money to areas where groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah operate, the Monitor said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said linking the thefts to terrorism is "irresponsible" and said the cases often end up being "some kind of immigration technicality."
