Cops: High-Tech 'James Bond Gang' Back To Thieving Ways In Tri-State
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A burglary ring with a taste for luxury appears to be back in business.
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The thieves slip in and out of the Tri-State Area's wealthiest neighborhoods undetected. Police said they are the latest sequel of the so-called "James Bond Gang."
They said there have been 40 burglaries in New York and New Jersey since 2009 that fit the group's pattern -- most of them in the last six months.
The break-in artists are known to stalk wealthy neighborhoods, sometimes in rented luxury cars. They ransack homes for cash and jewelry and leave in two minutes -- sometimes with $50,000 to $100,000 in proceeds.
But there may be a break in the case -- thanks to a recent arrest, reports CBS 2's Sean Hennessey.
The latest target was an Englewood home on Friday night -- part of a long line of break-ins all over Bergen County.
"I'm not happy about it," resident Joe Rosen said.
Rosen's Englewood street was one of several hit by thieves that break down the door, disable the alarm, rip off jewelry, and are gone within minutes.
"It's a concern but there's only so much we can do. We set our alarm and keep a look out," Rosen said.
Authorities said the so-called "James Bond Gang" is responsible. They are a group that gets its name from the tricked-out car gang predecessors used 20 years ago to get away from police, the kind 007 has. While this current crop doesn't have such a tool, Englewood Police said the similarity is the gang's M.O. and precision.
"There has been nothing involving a vehicle that has any similarities to the past," Deputy Chief Lawrence Suffern said. "These people have studied their work. They know different procedures that most law enforcement agencies follow."
That's how they were able to break down the door at one home, disable the alarm, go straight to the bedroom, and steal from a Cresskill, N.J. man.
"Jewelry. Only jewelry, nothing else," victim Seetharama Acharya said.
And from the home next door.
"It was a fur coat and some coins, coin collection, and pearls," homeowner Irwin Hirschberg said.
Jewelry is mainly what the thieves are after, hitting three dozen homes in affluent communities all over Bergen County.
Police have captured footprints in some cases, surveillance figures in others. Earlier this month, they had the biggest capture of all -- three men who police said are the prime suspects.
"We hope it's the end, you know, but there are other crews that are working," Tenafly Police Det. Wayne Hall said.
Police said they think the crews are splinter groups or sub cells. And with a method that clearly has been working, they said there's no reason to think these guys are going to stop.
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