Police in Radnor lure suspects to arrest

WAYNE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police in Delaware County have been trying to track down dozens of people, but they were having some trouble finding them. That's why they came up with a different approach - making those people come to them.

The sting operation went down at a storefront in the 100 block of West Lancaster Avenue in Wayne. Police put a sign on the door of the store front, which read, "The Bureau of Unclaimed Funds". Then, they sent letters to 46 people wanted on warrants telling them their unclaimed money was waiting - a lot of money - and to just come to that address.

One of the suspects is Kristin Silk, who was taken into police custody on an open warrant. Investigators say she was wanted on a DUI warrant, but police hadn't been able to track her down. So instead they figured out a way to get her and a handful of others with open warrants to come right to them.

Lt. Andy Block of Radnor Township Police says, "It was based on greed. That they were getting a fairly significant amount of money back to them through the unclaimed funds of a fictitious bureau that we had made up for the operation itself."

Once inside, and their identification verified, they went into a room where the officers were waiting to place them in handcuffs. Of the 46 letters, eight people took the bait. Some were wanted for crimes - others for unpaid fines.

Lt. Block says, "All the individuals were taken into custody without any type of incident and within an hour or two after their arrest they were taken right before the judge."

This was a joint operation between Radnor Township Police, Haverford Township Police, Marple, and Newtown Township Police.

Some of those taken into custody paid their fines on the spots, while others are making their way through the judicial system.

Of course, nobody actually got any money. And the storefront is gone after the two week police sting - replaced by a legitimate business.