Two male subjects have been brought into custody by the Troy Police Department following concerns of numerous packages being taken off of front porches, according to Lt. Bryan Weed.

“We are still in the midst of the investigation, but we would like to seek the public’s help,” Weed said.

The police department received calls starting Dec. 2 about items going missing from several locations, and Weed said among the items recovered were several that had not yet been reported missing or stolen.

“We know some of the stuff is stolen that hasn’t been reported,” Weed said. “We just want to urge people that if they have packages that they’re expecting to be sure to check the status of them.”

This is the first time in several years that the police department has received calls concerning issues such as this, but Weed said it was not uncommon during this time of year.

“This time of year, people need to be aware of their surroundings,” Weed said. “Be aware of what’s going on around you. Criminals watch to see who is buying what and where. We really want to stress to people to constantly be aware.”

While the two men are currently in custody, Weed said the police department wanted to allow time for anyone else to report stolen or missing packages in order to better charge the two men.

“The degree of the charges ultimately depends on the amount of property taken,” Weed said. “We’ve recovered a lot of property, and I mean a lot of property. One of the suspects’ apartments had a lot of property in it. They don’t know what they’re getting. They’re just taking it all.”

Items that have been recovered included clothing, shoes, routers, electronic equipment, bathrobes and even mouthwash.

To avoid putting yourself in any risk, Weed said the best preventative measure to take would be to have packages sent where someone can either sign for them or be held accountable for the package.

“If you can have your package delivered where you can have someone receive it, do that,” Weed said. “These two were just riding around and looking to see where the packages are. Every shipping company has been hit. They’re not just riding around following a white truck or a brown truck.”

The police department is also asking that if suspicious behavior is observed in your neighborhood or you see someone taking packages off of a porch, to please call and report the incident immediately.

“If you see someone in your neighbor, please call,” Weed said. “We’ve had several incidences where someone has watched them and not immediately called. One of the reasons we were able to catch them today was because we had received calls.”