LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. -- Employees from delivery service companies DHL and UPS were arrested after police investigated a local theft ring involving over $85,000 in stolen property, said the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

A three-month investigation ended on Tuesday when police arrested a fourth suspect on charges of theft and trafficking of stolen property.

VIDEO: Pricey Items Stolen Before Making It To Stores

The investigation started in March 2008 when separate reports received by the sheriff’s office from DHL and UPS said they were missing expensive electronic merchandise. Nearly $50,000 in iPods were reported missing from UPS and around $35,000 worth of Dell Computers were reported missing from DHL, said the sheriff’s office.

Police tracked the stolen iPods through those who had legally registered them with Apple. Police were able to track the iPods and talk with the registered owners who provided information that furthered their investigation.

A UPS driver, 38-year-old Todd Bartlett, of Chehalis, was stealing cases of iPods and selling them to 33-year-old Kevin Albert, of Oakville since December 2007, said the sheriff’s office.

The stolen Dell Computers came from a subcontractor for DHL, 30-year-old Curtis Hauck, of Lacey, said deputies.

Hauck loaded pallets of Dell Computers onto a semitrailer at the DHL distribution center in Chehalis. Police said Hauck arranged to pay the truck driver, 41-year-old Jim Crumm, of Auburn, $800 to make an unauthorized stop near Rochester where Hauck offloaded the computers.

Crumm was the fourth suspect to be arrested Tuesday. He will appear in court on Wednesday. The three other men have already been charged and have been released on bail.

“The suspects in this case were able to make a substantial amount of money before they were finally caught. Hopefully they will now have a long time to reflect on the consequences of their poor choices from behind bars," said Sheriff Steve Mansfield.

Several computers and iPods have been recovered since the investigation.