Warrant served near Derby is part of ‘months-long’ probe into fraud, theft, other crimes

A search warrant executed Monday morning at an address near Derby is “part of a months-long investigation into financial crimes involving multiple people and jurisdictions,” Wichita police announced Monday afternoon — but the agency isn’t saying much beyond that about the probe or its targets, other than that it involves stolen property tied to fraud, theft and other alleged crimes in Kansas and Oklahoma.

The announcement came in an email late Monday afternoon from the Wichita Police Department that also said the “investigation is ongoing” and promised “additional information will be made available at a later time.” It is unclear when that might be.

According to the release, the WPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, team with help from other area law enforcement departments served the search warrant Monday morning in the 7100 block of South 99th Street East, in southeastern Sedgwick County.

“The search warrant was regarding stolen property located at that location, which was related to an extensive investigation involving theft, fraud, and other financial crimes committed in Kansas and Oklahoma,” the release says.

Several buildings and homes sit on the property where the warrant was served, “necessitating multiple agencies’ involvement to ensure safety and security,” the release continues. Other agencies that assisted in serving the warrant are the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office, the Derby Police Department and the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office, the WPD said.

“Additionally, due to the size of the property and the volume of stolen goods, numerous officers were requested to assist with collecting and processing the evidence at the scene,” the release says.

Wichita police did not give descriptions of the stolen items, their number or their collective worth.

In response to questions, WPD spokesman Officer Trevor Macy characterized the items as “large” in number and consisting of a “wide range” of types.

“We have a lot of sorting to do as far as going through all of it and tallying up the value,” he said by phone.

The investigation spanned around six months and includes financial crimes committed back through at least January, Macy said.

Law enforcement were on the property serving the warrant from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, he said.

“We’re still processing all of the evidence that was collected,” he said late Monday afternoon.

Asked whether any suspects or persons of interest had been identified or arrested, Macy said he couldn’t yet give that information.