Arrests in hunt for gangs behind Asian home raids
AROUND 30 people have been arrested and vehicles seized as police hunt gangs stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of gold and cash from the homes of Asian victims.
Cops launched Operation Suitcase to snare the crooks who have left families – many of Asian or South Asian descent – devastated.
Two homes were targeted in Uddingston last month, with sentimental items worth thousands stolen in daylight raids. One victim, a grandmother, had items belonging to her late parents stolen.
Police Scotland figures show since July 2017, there have been 266 similar thefts reported across Scotland. UK-wide, from 2017 to April 2018, the number stands at 4,283.
Detective Inspector John Morrison, said Operation Suitcase was launched after a spate of family gold and cash thefts throughout Greater Glasgow and Paisley, many following with a similar pattern.
He said: “I identified there were a lot of similarities between the crimes, and most
news@ eveningtimes. co.uk or
on Facebook or Twitter of the victims being targeted were from South East Asian or Asian families.”
The amount of gold and cash stolen is in excess of £50 million UK-wide. Police Scotland’s figure is currently just under £2 million.
In Scotland, 26 arrests have been made since July 2017, with 10 vehicles seized in connection with investigations, and £70,000 of gold.
DI Morrison added: “We raised our concerns very early on. We’ve been supported by senior management and now have a dedicated team to take control over this.”
He added: “Operation Suitcase started between us and key divisions. We developed dedicated enquiry teams to work and we got an understanding and a procedure to investigate the crimes correctly, so the family gold crimes were passed to specific enquiry teams to deal with.”