Burglars target luxury store in South Jersey, steal $380,000 worth of merchandise
MARGATE, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Burglars made off with approximately $380,000 worth of luxury merchandise during a smash-and-grab at the Jersey Shore.
Some of that merchandise included high-end brands such as Gucci, Hermes, Chanel, and others.
It happened at Caroline's Fashion Luxuries along Ventnor Avenue in Margate just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Surveillance images show the suspects breaking the front glass window and climbing into the store.
Once inside, the suspects stole multiple items that were out on display as well as some items in the display cases.
They also left behind significant damage to the store.
The burglars left the scene in a vehicle traveling along Ventnor Avenue, according to police.
In May, burglars targeted the high-end boutique's other location on Kings Highway in Haddonfield.
After that incident, the store's owner, Karolina Yosef, said she hadn't arrived at a dollar amount to describe the loss but said some of the items cost between $8,000 and $10,000 each.
But it's not just Yosef's stores being targeted. She is speaking to a network of luxury consignment store owners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who have also been robbed.
Around the same time as Yosef's May burglary in Haddonfield, the Queen May luxury consignment store located in Cape May was ransacked and robbed of $300,000 in merchandise, including a rare Louis Vuitton trunk.
Lt Joe Scullion of the Margate City Police Department said immediately after they responded to Tuesday's burglary they were on the phone with other police agencies.
"In the last few months, we've seen other towns hit like this. We're working with those towns now to share info, locate suspects, ID vehicles," said Scullion.
Scullion added that the stores all have very clear surveillance video that is helping and the thieves may not realize whatthey left behind for investigators.
"We have the actual crime being committed on tape and we did collect physical evidence," Scullion said.
Yosef told Action News on Wednesday she's in contact with multiple other luxury consignment stores across New Jersey and Pennsylvania that were also targeted.
Scullion said if anyone has information to contact Margate City Police.
"We're working right now to ID the exact make and model and color of the vehicle.We do know they utilized the Margate bridge going in and out of town so we're working on getting surveillance from that," he said. "We're working with other agencies and we do have names thrown around and pictures of individuals."
WATCH | Suspects wanted in smash-and-grab burglary at luxury boutique in Haddonfield
