LEWISTON – A suspected ring of thieves has stolen at least $20,000 in merchandise, mostly from big box stores, police said Thursday.

A tip led authorities Wednesday night to a Cottage Street apartment that was jammed with boxes of new electronic equipment and more, said police Chief William Welch.

Police didn’t have a warrant but entered the woman’s apartment with her consent.

The items likely came from stores in southern and central Maine and possibly from stores in New Hampshire, he said.

Boxes of goods lined the walls of the apartment, Welch said. Targeted stores could include Wal-Mart, Sears and Kmart, he said. Stores in Maine from Augusta to Portland could have been hit, he said.

So far, police have confiscated computers, flat screen TVs, video games, jewelry and toys.

Police had made no arrests by mid-morning Thursday, but expect to bring charges against several people, Welch said.

The occupant of the apartment was cooperative and made several admissions, he said. Police have been busy sorting through the merchandise in an effort to determine where it came from and whether it was paid for. Some items were already identified as stolen, Welch said.

Police didn’t explain how the items were stolen nor how big the group of thieves might be.

“It’s a pretty complex system,” he said, noting credit cards, gifts cards and bad checks likely played a role in the scheme.

The extent of the stolen goods could end up being three or four times the number of items police have discovered so far, Welch said. The dollar amount could climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said.

Auburn police and members of the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force also are involved in the investigation.

“It’s sad to have to deal with this at Christmas, obviously, ” he said.