The alleged shoplifting that led to last month's shooting of a Weis Markets security officer raises an interesting question:

Who would go through so much trouble to steal razor blades, of all things?

"We typically have, with retail thefts, large quantities of perfumes" (being stolen), said East Lampeter Township police Sgt. Marlene Leighty. "I've never really heard of razor blades, but that's what we're dealing with. It seems like an odd item to me."

As it turns out, lots of thieves are setting their sights on razor-blade cartridges made by companies such as Gillette. The cartridges are expensive, easy to conceal and, most important, popular among consumers, according to retail experts.

Both the National Retail Federation and Food Marketing Institute have listed razor blades such as Gillette Fusion on their list of the most-stolen health and beauty items.

"The reality is, this is about items that are in high demand and easily resold," said Joseph LaRocca, the National Retail Federation's senior adviser for asset protection.

"We see a lot of activity with consumable goods. Razor blades, over-the-counter drugs and health and beauty products are consumable," he said. "You can liquidate them in a much larger quantity.

"Unfortunately, these groups prey on consumers looking for a good deal," LaRocca said.

In an interview Monday, the loss-prevention officer who was shot during the alleged theft at Weis on Nov. 21 said he saw the suspect stuff three or four packages of Gillette Fusion replacement cartridges — worth between $75 and $100 — into his pocket.

"There's a big market for these things," the officer, Brian Fantom, said.

A check of newspaper archives revealed numerous thefts of such items at grocery and drug stores, including a successful 2008 heist in neighboring Chester County in which the thief got away with $799 worth of Gillette Fusion blades.

In September, a shoplifter tried to walk out of the Giant on Columbia Avenue with $116 worth of razors. When confronted, the suspect tried to stab another man with a hypodermic needle, according to newspaper records.

In March, two men stole $250 worth of razors from the store.

Also that month, a Lancaster man was charged with stealing $87 worth of razors at Weis Markets on Millersville Pike in Lancaster Township.

The largest such heist in the area, according to newspaper records, came in 2008. In neighboring Chester County, a shoplifter grabbed $799 worth of razor blades from a supermarket, according to state police in Avondale.

East Lampeter Township police have said the suspects in the Weis Markets case, alleged gunman Kenneth Joel Peralta and alleged co-conspirator Luis Cora-Romero, intended to steal the items and then resell them for money to buy drugs or trade them for drugs.

It is unclear how or where the two men were going to fence the razor blades. But LaRocca said the goods often end up at flea markets, distributor outlets and even online. Sometimes, thieves sell their loot on street corners, he said.

A package of eight Gillette Fusion replacement cartridges runs about $26 at area drugstores. A search on eBay Tuesday found them going for less than half that price; some packages were going for as low as $5.50.

Authorities here say there's no evidence to suggest the two suspects in the Weis shoplifting were acting with a larger organized-crime outfit or reselling the goods online.

But LaRocca said that because the two weren't allegedly stealing the razors for their own personal use, they fit the description of organized retail criminals.

Crime rings generally consist of "boosters" — low-level, individual thieves who methodically steal merchandise from retail stores — and fence operators who convert the product to cash or drugs as part of the criminal enterprise.

"In retail loss-prevention terms, we see a lot of activity, what we call organized retail crime," LaRocca said. "Unlike shoplifting, where you have little Johnny stealing a pack of bubble gum, these are very sophisticated criminals who come in with the mission of stealing as much as they can."

Nearly 90 percent of America's retailers claimed they were victims of organized retail crimes from mid-2009 through mid-2010, according to a National Retail Federal report published earlier this year.

"It's not for personal use," LaRocca said. "They're desperate. They're addicted."

tmurse@lnpnews.com