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Alleged stolen-goods trader behind SF boba shop arrested yet again

Recovered stolen electronics are displayed during a news conference with San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on May 10, 2022, in San Francisco. Boudin announced an arrest made in an international fencing operation out of a boba tea store that was sending goods stolen from cars in San Francisco to other states and countries. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A San Francisco man who has been arrested for trading in stolen laptops and other items three times in four years is being held without bail after his latest encounter with police.

Quoc Le, 32, is accused of involvement with an international stolen goods ring and using his wife’s Quickly boba shop in the Tenderloin neighborhood as his base of operations. 

He was arrested in 2019 under a partnership between San Francisco and East Bay police. In 2022, he was arrested as the Homeland Security investigators and the United States Postal Service inspectors joined the effort. After the first arrest, he was released on a $60,000 bail. After his second arrest, he was required to wear a GPS monitor as a condition of his release. 

Le has never been convicted, as the resolutions of the cases have been delayed because of the pandemic and legal negotiations, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. 

Quoc Le was arrested for the third time in four years, and he’s accused of running an international burglary and stolen goods resale operation behind a boba tea store in Tenderloin. | Courtesy San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

On May 18, Le was arrested the third time at his home in San Francisco and has been in jail since then. Law enforcement said officers found stolen goods at his home.

“It is imperative that we do everything we can to undermine these sophisticated criminal networks and prevent ongoing theft and property crime,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement Friday.

Le is charged with more than 10 counts of possession of stolen property cumulatively over the past four years and faces more than 16 years in state prison if convicted.

He has a city business license for “BSR Shop,” which lists as its location 709 Larkin St.—the same address as the boba shop. On Le’s LinkedIn profile, he says he “buys new and used electronic items” and ships them to Vietnam and imports “all volume” of high-end clothing. He also invited “cell phone store owners, eBay sellers, dealers, distributors, resellers and wholesalers to sign up for free and become our reseller!”

Under the “resume” section, Le said he was looking for a job that would allow him to make “uncapped income.”

Randy Knox, an attorney representing Le, told The Standard that he’s handling the case but had no comment pending a review of the evidence.

Le made news a year ago when then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced Le’s arrest amid efforts to crack down on the city’s car break-in epidemic

Law enforcement used a “bait car” with a bag inside to attract burglars. Inside were electronic trackers that police said led them to the Quickly boba shop on Larkin Street, where they found stolen goods, apparently being prepared for sale to Asia. Le, who is Vietnamese American, required interpreting services at court hearings. 

The shop, run by Le’s wife, is still in business, and his wife is not charged with any crime.

A representative from the boba store declined to be interviewed on Friday.

The District Attorney’s Office sorts through stolen goods in 2022. | Courtesy San Francisco District Attorney’s Office

Over 1,000 stolen items were recovered last year from Le’s operation, mostly laptop computers, cell phones and tablets.

Le’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.

Han Li can be reached at han@sfstandard.com