Pair of thieves robbed exclusive Gangnam homes

자료사진-해당기사와 무관함

Police arrested a pair of thieves who robbed expensive residences in Gangnam, southern Seoul, getting away with luxury goods worth hundreds of millions of won.

The Bangbae Police Precinct in Seoul said yesterday they arrested two thieves surnamed Choi, 31, and Lee, 38, for robbing 320 million won ($291,400) worth of designer brand goods such as Louis Vuitton purses and Cartier watches on 50 different occasions since last October. Within their haul were 100 department store gift certificates worth 500,000 won apiece.

The police said that the suspects robbed houses in Gangnam and Seocho District, two of the most exclusive residential areas in Seoul, by climbing the gas pipes on the houses’ exteriors.

The suspects usually struck between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., police said. They would ring the doorbell to see if anyone was home, and one went into the house while the second stood guard.

The police said 43 houses including the house of Park Jae-young, the Vice Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, were robbed from the suspects.

The suspects got $1,000 and jewelry worth 10 million won from Park’s house.

“The suspects robbed at least two to three times a week in the last six months,” a spokesman for the Bangbae police said. “We are currently inquiring into further crimes. We are also tracking down the people who bought the stolen goods. The gas pipes they climbed are less than a meter away from the houses’ windows, so we suggest owners put additional protection on their windows, such as iron grilles.”

The two suspects sold their loot and bought imported sedans, including a Mercedes Benz and an Infiniti, police said, and spent their nights drinking at high-priced room salons, or hostess bars, in Gangnam.

By Kwon Sang-soo [sakwon80@joongang.co.kr]