Berlin Man Charged With Stealing Donated Clothes to Sell at Flea Markets

A Berlin man was charged by Gloucester Township Police with stealing donated clothes and selling them at a local flea market, police announced Wednesday morning.

Michael Okpor, 48, was charged with theft after police found him in possession of a total of 14 bags of donated clothes he allegedly stole from various locations.

At about 10:55 Monday night, bicycle patrol officers from the Gloucester Township Police Department were conducting enhanced operations in the area of the EZ Food Stop parking lot for a report of suspicious activity in the area.

The officers saw a person drive into the EZ Food Stop parking lot, exit his vehicle and remove five bags of clothing from the donation container belonging to South Jersey Ventures.

Officers approached and interviewed the male, later identified as Okpor, to conduct an investigation and found an additional nine bags of clothing in the back seat of the vehicle.

Police soon determined these bags stolen from a donation container belonging to the Read Foundation in Lawnside. Okpor allegedly stole the clothes to sell at a local flea market.

Okpor was arrested and taken to Gloucester Township Police headquarters where he was processed and released on a criminal summons pending court time and date.

The clothes were recovered to be returned to the donation foundations.