MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested two thieves the day after they escaped from a drugstore as part of a crime crackdown in Miami Beach.
Surveillance footage recorded on Saturday showed the clerk confronting the crooks as they failed to make their way out of the store with the stolen goods. They clumsily escaped but were arrested Sunday.
They tracked the crooks to a Shell gas station and arrested them for attempted strong-armed robbery and identity theft after they found stolen credit cards and driver’s licenses.
The arrests were made in part by a newly created task force of 15 Miami Beach police officers called Operation ADCD (Art Deco Cultural District) Safe.
The task force was made in response to a stretch of November crimes in South Beach’s troubled entertainment district.
“There’s this notion out there that you come to Miami Beach and anything goes, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Miami Beach Police officer Ernesto Rodriguez.
The squad has been out in full force.
“Addressing crimes, crimes of all levels,” Rodriguez said.
The squad had to leave the city to go to the Miami section of the Venetian Causeway on Friday night to catch a man on a motorbike.
Cameras rolled as police arrested him after he allegedly sped through streets and sidewalks. His bike got impounded.
Since they formed, Operation ADCD Safe has made 73 arrests, seized five guns and wrote up 267 traffic citations.
The police department said the enforcement is working.
“And if you come to Miami Beach to cause trouble, you will be arrested,” Rodriguez said.
The operation is expected to last six weeks.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.