ATLANTA — Street gangs targeting premium denim have stolen merchandise valued at more than $1 million during increasingly brazen robberies and break-ins of over 50 stores in the Atlanta area, police said.
Specialty retailers are locking denim in safes, hiring security guards and dropping some well-known denim lines because of the crime wave by what police have dubbed the "Blue Jean Bandits." Some merchants said they might close because of the added costs and emotional strain.
The stolen goods are resold through an underground network that reaches from street vendors to nightclubs, beauty salons and the Internet, said Detective Rick Anderson of the Atlanta Police Department Retail Theft Task Force. The most popular labels are True Religion, Rock & Republic and Red Monkey, all retailing at about $200 and being resold for an average of $70. The thefts began a year ago as after-hours "smash-and-grabs" in which gang members broke windows to take armloads of denim from folded stacks. They have escalated to daytime holdups in which the thieves are sometimes armed with guns and pepper spray. There have been 28 robberies and break-ins this year.
"It started with a 30-member gang called '30D,' but now there are multiple gangs with names like 'The Young Crew' and 'The Hit Squad' that are recruiting young kids to do these break-ins, we think sometimes as initiation," Anderson said. "They consider themselves modern-day Robin Hoods, taking from the rich and selling to the poor. It's harder to convict someone caught with a pair of jeans than someone caught with crack cocaine."
A total of 17 suspects have been arrested and more are being sought.
The thefts have been a nightmarish addition to the woes of independent retailers struggling with a weak economy and rising costs. The strains caused by fearful employees and the extra burdens of insurance, security and replacing stolen goods are taking a serious toll.
In six robberies over the last eight months, Blue Genes Inc., a seven-year-old boutique in Atlanta's Buckhead section, lost $140,000 in men's and women's denim, including Citizens of Humanity, True Religion and others.
Co-owner Jennifer Arrendale has spent $110,000 on guards and had to put $10,000 down to get a new insurance policy with premiums running $2,650 a month — triple what she paid on her canceled policy.
Specialty retailers are locking denim in safes, hiring security guards and dropping some well-known denim lines because of the crime wave by what police have dubbed the "Blue Jean Bandits." Some merchants said they might close because of the added costs and emotional strain.
The stolen goods are resold through an underground network that reaches from street vendors to nightclubs, beauty salons and the Internet, said Detective Rick Anderson of the Atlanta Police Department Retail Theft Task Force. The most popular labels are True Religion, Rock & Republic and Red Monkey, all retailing at about $200 and being resold for an average of $70. The thefts began a year ago as after-hours "smash-and-grabs" in which gang members broke windows to take armloads of denim from folded stacks. They have escalated to daytime holdups in which the thieves are sometimes armed with guns and pepper spray. There have been 28 robberies and break-ins this year.
"It started with a 30-member gang called '30D,' but now there are multiple gangs with names like 'The Young Crew' and 'The Hit Squad' that are recruiting young kids to do these break-ins, we think sometimes as initiation," Anderson said. "They consider themselves modern-day Robin Hoods, taking from the rich and selling to the poor. It's harder to convict someone caught with a pair of jeans than someone caught with crack cocaine."
A total of 17 suspects have been arrested and more are being sought.
The thefts have been a nightmarish addition to the woes of independent retailers struggling with a weak economy and rising costs. The strains caused by fearful employees and the extra burdens of insurance, security and replacing stolen goods are taking a serious toll.
In six robberies over the last eight months, Blue Genes Inc., a seven-year-old boutique in Atlanta's Buckhead section, lost $140,000 in men's and women's denim, including Citizens of Humanity, True Religion and others.
Co-owner Jennifer Arrendale has spent $110,000 on guards and had to put $10,000 down to get a new insurance policy with premiums running $2,650 a month — triple what she paid on her canceled policy.
