Postal authorities say two suspects related to a wide range of recent mail thefts in northeastern Kansas and Missouri are now in custody in Missouri.

Agencies are still gathering information before they file federal charges.

“It’s just a matter of time. You kind of have to build a case some time,” said Donald Obritsch, a U.S. Postal Inspector in the Kansas City field office.

Obritsch said a woman was arrested in St. Clair County in Missouri earlier this month on state warrants there related to identity theft, as well as other charges in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

A man was also arrested recently on warrants in St. Joseph, Mo.

In late January, the postal inspector’s office met with several Kansas and Missouri law enforcement agencies in Oskaloosa about a rash of mail thefts in the area in recent months.

Officers were worried about thefts of checks, credit card and other information passed through the mail. Federal and state authorities were coordinating information to try to build a case, and they had zeroed in on a group of suspects.

Obritsch said since the arrests, mail thefts in the area have decreased considerably. He said federal prosecutors would make a decision whether to seek an indictment through a grand jury for the suspects.