Secret Service and State Police make crime ring bust - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

State Police and the Secret Service are investigating a crime ring, which was busted in Indianapolis.

Police said the suspects probably would have gotten away with it if they hadn't started setting off fireworks. Troopers who were patrolling I-465 near U.S. 40 when they saw people lighting off fireworks. They were initially trying to prevent a possible brush fire, when they discovered something completely different.

"(The troopers) noticed that aerial fireworks were going off very close to I-465 and very close to the dry vegetation-grass that were along the berm. So they came here to this hotel here on the east side to investigate," said State Police Sergeant Rich Myers.

Troopers started talking with the group of seven individuals who were staying at the hotel, and realized something wasn't right because their stories didn't match. By the time police finished searching the suspect's three vehicles they found stacks of iPods and iPads, $3,000 worth of fireworks and more than 200 fraudulent gift cards.

Police think the seven suspects used those cards to buy all of the merchandise and they were planning to take it to the east coast and sell all of it there.

"(We will) try and trace this down with the FBI, with the Secret Service to try to trace the origin of this back to see if it's part of something larger or if it's just these individuals together," said Sgt. Myers.

Police said three of the seven are from New York, three from Florida and one is from Pennsylvania. Investigators say this is part of a larger crime ring, and are now working with other agencies to investigate it farther.