Undercover 'Operation Naughty List’ Leads to 78 Arrests and Prevented Thousands of Dollars in Alleged Retail Theft By Toria Sheffield

An undercover police operation in North Carolina called “Operation Naughty List” has led to 78 arrests.

Authorities “conducted targeted operations at high-theft retail locations, including Target and Walmart stores across the city of Gastonia” between Nov. 28 and Dec. 19, 2025, per a press release from the Gastonia Police Department (GPD) shared on Facebook on Monday, Dec. 29. 

The effort, dubbed “Operation Naughty List,” resulted in the arrest of 78 individuals and a total of 154 charges. The charges ranged from misdemeanor and felony larceny, possession of controlled substances like cocaine, trespassing and outstanding warrants, per the release.

Additionally, officers recovered or prevented the theft of a total of $4,342.85 in retail merchandise, including one incident involving the attempted theft of $735 that involved the deactivation of anti-theft devices.

The undercover initiative entailed officers from the department’s Street Crimes Unit dressing in plain clothes and “blending in with shoppers while working closely with store loss-prevention professionals.”

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A video shared by GPD of the operation features footage of a plainclothes officer in jeans and a grey sweater, a shopping item in his hand. Another clip features an officer in black jeans, a sweatshirt and beanie appearing to puruse the clothing section of a local store.

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The initiative enabled the officers to prevent theft in real time and target repeat offenders, per GPD.

GPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’S request for comment.