US robbers targeting Indian homes for gold

[ch102]

US robbers targeting Indian homes for gold - US - World - The Times of India


WASHINGTON: Police in the US have found a disturbing trend of Indian-American homes being targeted by burglars for gold, which guarantees the
robbers of better money, thanks to the soaring price of the precious metal, rather than traditional electronic items.

Since high quality gold jewellery—of 22 carats or more—is found mostly in homes of Indians in particular and South Asians in general, the police say the robbers have increasingly started targeting such homes, a media report said.

The Washington Post said several cases of burglars breaking into Indian homes and making off with gold have been reported in neighbourhoods in and around Washington, which has a sizeable Indian population.

"The burglars are discerning. They have taken 22-carat pieces but left behind sterling silver and well-crafted costume jewellery. They have sifted through floor-length gowns lovingly stored in closets and plucked every custom-made sari threaded with gold worth thousands, disdaining saris worth only hundreds," the report said.

Last Thursday at least three such cases were reported in Loudoun county, Virginia. Burglars broke into six Indian homes in Fairfax too. Another 16 burglaries between January and August were reported in Reston, Centreville and Fair Oaks, the daily said.

It added that unsolved crimes mirrored a pattern of 93 burglaries in Houston, 37 in central Illinois and several near St Paul, Minnesota.

Police had yet to figure out how the burglars so successfully identify homes with large gold caches, the paper said. Victims and police had eliminated obvious links like churches, temples, or even grocery stores where they could have been tracked, it added.

"There is targeting due to gold prices. That’s how we are talking about it, rather than ethnicity," Fairfax police spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said.

Raman Kumar, whose house was burgled recently, said the thieves took away a gold statue of Lakshmi while left other electronic items including laptop. "Here is the thing: If you know our customs, you know we carry a lot of gold," he was quoted as saying.

The Post said thieves operate with a notable precision, not only in choosing houses but also on sorting the take. "Vindhya Kommineni lost her most expensive saris made for her wedding, her wedding rings and a sterling dinner set that included gold inlay as part of an October 6 burglary that was one of two that day on a block in Fair Oaks. Not all of her gowns were taken, nor were all of her silver utensils," the daily said.

[sanjay]

Last week I attended a seminar from Fairfax County police dept and their first message was to put all gold in bank lockers and when asked how these buglers know which house belongs to Indian family ?

There reply : You guys, mostly, put your GOD ( mostly Ganesha ) photo on the entry door and it makes them identify your house.

Also, its a known fact that Indians, mostly, won't subscribe for any security services since women are home makers and they think it as waste of money in these services. And lastly, Indians never buy / keep any weapon at home.

[gc_on_demand]

Just happened to my neighbor last week. They got some gold and digital camera. My family was at home but didn't notice much. Interesting thing was they did on Sunday evening which is very risky time as per police , people might be returning home for Monday.

[PavanV]

Damn, these are strange times, is there a notion that folks of Indian descent are rich ? or just plain stupid to keep a lot of gold at home ?, if it is the latter I think it is a pattern of racial profiling for gold ? scary indeed, when i was growing up there were rampant burglaries in India due to several reasons, unemployment being one. Since its generally perceived (misconception) that south Asians are stealing jobs, criminals probably are thinking they deserve the money/gold ? as they have been robbed out of their jobs ?.
On a side note, i believe every prospective immigrant should volunteer their time to help the needy and contribute how much ever he/she can to the community.
God bless !

[gc_wow]

We are Targets of hate crime,organized crime or any other type of crime, even cops target us for no reason.

[Humhongekamyab]

Here is the link from Washington Post

washingtonpost.com

[sanju_dba]

Originally Posted by sanjay

Last week I attended a seminar from Fairfax County police dept and their first message was to put all gold in bank lockers and when asked how these buglers know which house belongs to Indian family ?

There reply : You guys, mostly, put your GOD ( mostly Ganesha ) photo on the entry door and it makes them identify your house.

Also, its a known fact that Indians, mostly, won't subscribe for any security services since women are home makers and they think it as waste of money in these services. And lastly, Indians never buy / keep any weapon at home.

or your lawn mowing is way due...

[addsf345]

Originally Posted by Humhongekamyab

Here is the link from Washington Post

washingtonpost.com

I read the article. Various theories are being put to test, how the robbers zeroed in on these families like grocery shops, church/temples, etc etc.

"Officers in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and the homeowners themselves, have yet to figure out how the burglars so successfully identify houses with large gold caches. Before they became victims, many of the families were strangers, and they and police have eliminated many of the obvious links: churches, temples, schools or even grocery stores where they could have been tracked."

Do you think there may be information leaked from where they may have bought gold in big chunk? I don't know at all. Just a GUESS.. The robers may have got the database by hecking or some other way. This way they know this family must have some gold, as they recently bought GOLD.

[PavanV]

That is true, but don't take life so serious man, s*it happens, to quote the Joker, "Why so serious ?"

Originally Posted by gc_wow

We are Targets of hate crime,organized crime or any other type of crime, even cops target us for no reason.

[BECsufferer]

How do you spot an Indians house

1. Picture of Lord "..." at entrance. Folks I citing what Fairfax cops said, don't label me. I myself was surprised to read
2. Toyota and/or Honda in driveway if you are OK. Mercedes/BMW/Lexus if rich
3. Husband mows lawn and front yard least beautiful amongst neighbors
4. Mostly stay in-house, even during summer. Spouse (wife) rarely (maybe never) seen conversing with neighbors shorts wearing blonde.
5. Religiously leaving at 7:00am and returning no earlier than 6:00pm Mon thru Friday. Working even when people are being fired right&left.
6. If ever going for vacation never shorter than 3 weeks
7. Doing grocery always on weekends.

Evidently, we all do many of these ourselves ... me too.

Again peace!

[ashkam]

Originally Posted by gc_wow

We are Targets of hate crime,organized crime or any other type of crime, even cops target us for no reason.

Could you please quit the victimhood mentality? If you don't want to be burgled, don't keep all that gold in the house.

[DSLStart]

Hilarious
Just a little edit for 7
Weekend hobbies: visiting 3 places, Patel brothers for Indian groceries, another Indian store for Indian movies VHS cassettes and American store/gas station for milk/bread etc...

Originally Posted by BECsufferer

How do you spot an Indians house

1. Picture of Lord "..." at entrance. Folks I citing what Fairfax cops said, don't label me. I myself was surprised to read
2. Toyota and/or Honda in driveway if you are OK. Mercedes/BMW/Lexus if rich
3. Husband mows lawn and front yard least beautiful amongst neighbors
4. Mostly stay in-house, even during summer. Spouse (wife) rarely (maybe never) seen conversing with neighbors shorts wearing blonde.
5. Religiously leaving at 7:00am and returning no earlier than 6:00pm Mon thru Friday. Working even when people are being fired right&left.
6. If ever going for vacation never shorter than 3 weeks
7. Doing grocery always on weekends.

Evidently, we all do many of these ourselves ... me too.

Again peace!

[sanju_dba]

i get mail from local desi grocers that i didnot signed up for, that means, personal information is being shared amond these business. How secured are they ? would be there any chance reaching the wrong hands?

[go_guy123]

Everybody seems to be robbing us.....

Earlier it used to be only US employers, body shoppers and all the layers of middlemen.
Now even petty robbers have joined the game.....hmmm...

[nousername]

addsf345, **Robbers probably hacked into USCIS database and identified Indian's. Not just that but they also must have realized that Indian's pay a lot of money to USCIS so they might be rich

On a much serious note, I have experienced home burglary and it is very serious. It is not just financial loss but you feel your privacy being attacked. Imagine someone walking into your house without your knowledge. Those F***e*s have nothing to lose so be careful.

Originally Posted by addsf345

Do you think there may be information leaked from where they may have bought gold in big chunk? I don't know at all. Just a GUESS.. The robers may have got the database by hecking** or some other way. This way they know this family must have some gold, as they recently bought GOLD.