The holidays are just around the corner and it looks like one shoplifting crew is not experiencing supply chain issues.
Police are looking for the six-man team that stormed into Salvatore Ferragamo, 645 North Michigan, and stole over $70,000 worth of purses Tuesday afternoon.
It’s the latest in a long string of similar organized thefts from high-end retailers in the area.
Around 4 p.m., the men stepped out of two vehicles, entered the store, and began collecting handbags from the shelves. They — and 38 of the store’s purses — were gone within minutes, according to a CPD report. Ferragamo’s bags retail for well over $1,000 each.
The crew was last seen heading east on Erie Street in a gold Lincoln SUV and a gray Toyota Camry, according to the report.
In August, a 73-year-old security guard was critically injured when a shoplifting mob knocked him to the ground at Ferragamo. That incident sparked one of many community alerts Chicago police have issued about shoplifting teams that specialize in stealing purses from pricey boutiques around the Mag Mile, Oak Street, and Rush Street retail strips.
Less than two weeks ago, thieves rammed a Nissan Maxima through the front doors of DIOR, 931 North Rush Street during an overnight raid. Thousands of dollars worth of purses and other merchandise were taken from inside, police said.
Police released a video in October of two men swiping armloads of handbags from Botega Veneta, 800 North Michigan. In September, an employee at Bottega Veneta admitted a man into the same store and about eleven other men poured in behind the first. The crew collected about 35 handbags from the shelves and ran out the door, according to a property management company’s email to nearby residents.
On October 13, up to ten young thieves raided the Saint Laurent store at 11 East Walton around 11:27 a.m. and stole merchandise worth about $35,000, according to an initial estimate.
Crews also hit Burberry and Moncler in September.
Investigators believe the thefts are conducted by an organized crime ring that sells the stolen merchandise online.
