$22,000 worth of Coach purses missing

The expensive handbag heist happened at the Dillards at Woodland Hills Mall, two big thefts, just four days apart. <br/><br/>News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright says the items taken were Coach signature

Tuesday, April 11th 2006, 11:46 am

By: News On 6

The expensive handbag heist happened at the Dillards at Woodland Hills Mall, two big thefts, just four days apart.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright says the items taken were Coach signature bags and many of the ones stolen were tan with brown stitching.

The first theft happened on Tuesday, March 28th, the next one on Sunday, April 2nd. They took dozens of bags worth thousands of dollars from a locked storeroom.

Tulsa Police detective Debra Glenn: "The first time, someone used a pass key and several people had access to that key. The second time, perhaps the locks had been changed by this time, because they entered by breaking through the ceiling into the locked storeroom."

Tulsa Police believe the thieves will sell these bags for a fraction of the cost. Jobs with inside information are part of a growing epidemic. The National Retail Security Survey says employee theft costs businesses more than any other kind. Employee theft accounted for more than 48 percent of all loss, worth $15-billion. Compare that to shoplifting, which was nearly 32 percent of all retail loss and around $10-billion. Add in paperwork errors and vendor fraud and you've got $31-billion a year. That's the largest source of property crime in the US, more than auto theft, bank robberies and home burglaries combined.

And, guess who pays for all that? You and me, the people who go shopping. Research shows each of us pays an additional $400 a year because of it. Tulsa Police say this heist involves such unique merchandise, it's going to be hard to keep it quiet. "Somebody knows where these purses are. They're two big of an item and they are going to get turned around on the street and that's the information we're hoping to gain."

People steal these things because they know other people will buy them. If you do that, you're not only helping the criminals, but if the police catch the thieves, they'll confiscate the bag and good luck getting your money back.

If you see someone selling Coach bags cheap, report it to Tulsa Police. If you know who's behind this handbag heist, call Crimestoppers at 596-COPS.