Police say two people who were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting at Rosedale Center are connected to an organized retail theft ring that’s caused losses of $1 million from Lululemon stores across the country.

Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, both of Danbury, Connecticut, were arrested on Thursday after a Lululemon retail crime investigator notified local authorities that the pair were seen stealing from the Lululemon store at Rosedale Center the day before.

Richards and Lawes-Richards were initially stopped when the security alarm went off as they were leaving the Rosedale location, according to a criminal complaint. Richards claimed he was being racially profiled and accused store employees of activating the alarm on purpose. The couple was allowed to leave, and the alarm didn’t go off the second time they walked out.

It was only after Richards and Lawes-Richards left the premises that the officer who responded to the shoplifting report realized the Lululemon investigator had texted the day before to notify him that the couple and a third person had stolen close to $5,000 of merchandise from the same store.

The Lululemon investigator then discovered that Richards and Lawes-Richards were at the Lululemon store in Woodbury, and Woodbury police took them into custody.

Richards declined to talk with investigators, and Lawes-Richards denied having been at the Rosedale location the day before. And despite Richards having a key card to the JW Marriott hotel in Bloomington on him, Lawes-Richards claimed they were staying with her aunt, not at a hotel.

Investigators found Richards indeed had booked a room at the JW Marriott and obtained a search warrant for the room under his name. Twelve suitcases were found inside the room, containing an estimated $50,000 worth of Lululemon clothing with the tags still attached, the complaint states.

The retail investigator told police Richards and Lawes-Richards had taken a previous trip to Minnesota in September to swipe Lululemon gear, and between the two trips they had stolen about $30,000 worth of items. On Nov. 13 alone, the investigator documented thefts at five different stores in the metro: two in Edina and one each in Minneapolis, Minnetonka and Roseville.

According to the Lululemon investigator, these two had devised a sophisticated scheme to steal items from across the country and return them back on the East Coast to receive the value of the stolen goods on a credit or debit card.

The complaint alleges Richards typically buys a few inexpensive items at the counter while Lawes-Richards and other accomplices grab items and stuff them in their clothes, possibly securing them to their bodies with straps.

After the security sensors are taken off the legitimately purchased goods, they use a device to remove a sensor from one of the shoplifted items and affix it on one of the pieces Richards had just purchased. The whole group then walks out of the store, and when the alarm goes off, Richards immediately stops and goes back to the counter while the rest walk away. Store employees then remove the security tag the group had reattached.

The thieves later go back to the East Coast to conduct unverified exchanges, swapping the stolen items out for other items that cost slightly more than what the original items cost. According to court documents, the idea is to pay a small balance on a credit card to cover the new, pricier total. Once these items are documented on a receipt and connected to a credit card, they return them for the full value and put it back on the credit card.

The Lululemon investigator who worked with law enforcement estimated Richards and Lawes-Richards had returned nearly $500,000 worth of stolen items. Stores document the value of the missing items as a loss, too, so the company estimates the total financial loss to be closer to $1 million.

Richards and Lawes-Richards are each charged with one count of felony organized retail theft — a new criminal charge designed to target large-scale theft schemes. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Both defendants made their first court appearances on Monday. Their next hearing is set for Dec. 16.