A Lansford man, wanted by Carbon County authorities, was picked up by Tamaqua police on April 6 in the course of an investigation into the theft of cigarettes from the Turkey Hill Minute Mart, 330 E. Broad St.

According to the report, on April 1 at about 11:47 p.m., a male and female entered the store together. The woman asked the clerk to make coffee. As the clerk was occupied with this task the male removed several packs of cigarettes from shelves behind the counter. The action was caught on the store's surveillance video, but wasn't observed by the clerk. The woman then paid for the coffee and the couple left the area in a white Chevrolet van.Unable to initially identify the culprits store personnel were shown the suspects and advised to call police if they came back to the convenience store.At 10:13 p.m. on April 6 the duo did enter Turkey Hill and the clerk immediately called police. The male was identified as Benjamin Kunkel, 37, of 355 W. Water St., Lansford. A records check indicated Kunkel had a warrant issued by Carbon County officials for his arrest.He was cited for retail theft and held for Carbon County law enforcement.