Louis Vuitton drive-thru, smash-and-grab heist

CHICAGO -- Burglars drove straight into a Louis Vuitton store in the suburbs outside Chicago early Tuesday morning -- and it wasn't the first time the luxury merchandiser was targeted in such a fashion, reports CBS Chicago.

Local police say that just before 5 a.m. Tuesday, a group of thievess drove a stolen 2009 Toyota through the doors of the Northbrook, Ill., shopping mall, drove the car through the mall, and then right through the front door of the store. Then theystarted grabbing those high-end bags.

"They were there for about a minute, according to the cleaning crew. It did look like they removed...a large portion of merchandise on display," spokesperson Daniel Petka told CBS Chicago.

The burglars reportedly then left on foot. Petka told the station that police were checking into possible connections with a similar crime at another suburban Louis Vuitton store two months ago.

In that smash-and-grab in Oakbrook, Ill., on Sept. 7, a van crashed through the front doors, according to the Chicago Tribune. Photos subsequently released by police show the suspects in masks, hoodies and gloves, climbing on top of display cases to grab merchandise.

In that burglary, officials estimated the bad guys got away with around $120,000 in high-end items.