MEMBERS of Redditch’s South Asian community fear they are being targeted by gold thieves.
In the last few weeks six families have been targeted with gangs getting away with a massive haul 24 carat jewellery – many of the pieces heirlooms passed down through generations.
“They are only interested in the gold and they have burgled houses as far apart at Hither Green Lane and Eckington Close in Woodrow where they simply broke down the front door at 4pm in the afternoon,” said concerned neighbour Siddhartha Sreenivasan.
“I think they are keeping watch on houses and as soon as the clocks go back they start burgling homes.”
e added it was in the culture of Indians to wear pure gold for celebrations.
“If there is a function they see what the ladies are wearing and then find out where they live,” said Mr Sreenivasan.
The last celebration was Diwali, the Indian festival of light, and since then six houses in Redditch have been targeted, netting the thieves thousands of pounds in gold.
In the past families with precious heirlooms have kept them in the bank, bringing them out only for special occasions before returning to the vaults.
However with many banks now ending their safety deposit box service most families are forced to keep the jewellery at home.
“We want to know what steps the police are taking to catch these criminals because at the moment families feel under constant threat of theft,” said Mr Sreenivasan.
We contacted West Mercia Police for a comment but unfortunately they failed to get back to us.
