SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday the arrest and felony charges against members of an organized retail theft ring operating throughout California including in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Arrested or charged for their alleged part in the ring were Diego Soler, Jesus Baron, Edna Rico, Leobardo Leony, Monica Jimenez Moreno, Elkin Ruiz Rico, Luis Fitzgerald Salcedo, Christian Perez and Juan Escobar Sarimento.

"Today we take another step toward tackling this issue by announcing the arrests and felony charges against individuals alleged to be participants in an organized criminal scheme targeting retailers throughout our state," Bonta said.

The thefts alleged carried out by the robbery crew spanned Northern and Southern California from the Sacramento area, to the Bay Area to the Los Angeles area.

Read The Retail Theft Ring Complaint

According to the criminal complaint, Soler, Baron, Edna Rico and Elkin Ruiz Rico have been charged in the Feb. 4 robbery of items from the JCPenny store at Stoneridge Mall.

The same foursome are charged with allegedly stealing merchandise from a Santa Clara County Macy's store in October 2021 and from an Alameda County Macy's store in November 2021.

The investigation by the California Highway Patrol retail theft task force began in 2021. During a search and arrest operation in Los Angeles on Monday, officers arrested five of the targeted suspects and recovered approximately $62,000 in cash and $135,000 of stolen merchandise from major retailers including Macy's, Columbia Sportswear, Abercrombie & Fitch, J.C. Penney, and Lululemon.

An additional suspect from the operation was charged on Tuesday and remains at large.

As part of the scheme targeted during Monday's search and arrest operation, the suspects allegedly stole and transported hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods, held the items and shipped them internationally.

These suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, organized retail theft, grand theft, possession of stolen property, and a special allegation alleging that the theft totaled more than $100,000.

The additional three suspects -- Salcedo, Perez and Sarimento -- arrested Tuesday are charged with possession of stolen merchandise.