SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 28, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have arrested a 30-year-old man suspected of stealing more than $4,000 in perfume, cologne and sunglasses from a store at Salt Lake City International Airport.
Alai Hussein Harb was arrested by the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Airport Division on Tuesday following an investigation into a series of retail thefts at Salt Lake City Dufry Shopping in Concourse A.
Police say Harb stole items from the store during three visits to the airport over the past six weeks. He was captured on surveillance video on each occasion putting the stolen items into a red and black backpack, according to a probable cause statement filed in 3rd District Court.
Police say the investigation began on Feb. 15 when Harb is seen on video stealing seven boxes of perfume valued at $1,250 from the store.
Harb returned to the store March 14 and stole 13 boxes of perfume and a pair of sunglasses with a combined estimated value of $2,000, according to the affidavit filed by Salt Lake City police.
On March 25, Harb is seen stealing seven boxes of fragrances for men and women valued at an estimated $900, police said.
Harb was a ticketed airline passenger at the time of all three thefts, police said.
Officers received information that Harb would be traveling through the airport Tuesday and took him into custody without incident or disruption to airport operations, according to police.
Harb was in possession of a bottle of pills prescribed to someone else at the time of his arrest, police said. The probable cause statement identifies the 89 pills as Oxycodone.
Police say Harb recently obtained a Utah ID and was traveling to Arizona at the time of his arrest. He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of:
- Three counts of retail theft, one second-degree felony and two third-degree felonies
- Possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor
Police say Harb has at least six previous convictions for retail theft over the past 10 years.
