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NYPD: Suspects In Series Of Fur Thefts Caught On Surveillance Video

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's a crime spree that's hard to fur-get.

Four suspects are being sought after stealing furs and other luxury items from swanky boutiques in Manhattan, the NYPD said.

The series of six robberies took place from October-December of last year, police said.

The pattern of the crimes is the same: In each case, a man and woman enter a store, one of them distracts the clerk while the other steals a fur, usually stuffing the fur under their coat and then walking out, police said. In one case they stole a crocodile skin jacket, police said.

Manhattan Fur Robbery Suspects
Police say these are two of the suspects in the string of fur robberies in Manhattan. (credit: NYPD)

Their targets have included Saks Fifth Avenue, Luxury Living and The Fur Source of NY, among others, police said.

They're unassuming and slick -- and despite being caught by several surveillance cameras in multiple high-end stores, police still haven't been able to catch the crew of fur coat thieves, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.

Peter Minakakis, owner of The Fur Source of NY, said his 57th Street store was hit twice by the suspects. On Friday night, a couple stole a $50,000 Chinchilla coat.

Surveillance camera footage from the incident shows a woman distracting a salesperson, while her male companion rolls up the coat and shoves it in his sweater, under a heavy winter coat.

A different couple pulled the exact same stunt at the store last October, stealing a $12,000 Chinchilla jacket.

Police believe the same group was involved in stealing two fur coats from Riflessi on 57th Street in December. Surveillance footage from the incident show a man shoving the coats in his pants.

"They must have had a knowledge of how our salesfloor ran in order to execute it that quickly," Benna Douglas, of Riflessi, said.

Bobby Arang, of Authentic Preowned, says the suspects had a well-exceuted plan when they entered his store in SoHo. While one man engaged workers at the front of the store, another man stole a $9,000 crocodile jacket from the back.

"They are professional thieves," Arang said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) to give a tip in Spanish. You can also submit tips via the Crime Stoppers website or by texting tips to CRIMES (274637) and then entering TIP577.

All calls are confidential.

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