Police Warn Of Asian Gold Burglaries
4 August 2013, 06:00
Police in Bedfordshire are investigating after two elderly people are targetted for Asian gold within hours of each other.
At this stage Police have told Heart if they are unsure if these are linked to each other, as detectives are still doing active enquiries but an initial distraction method was used in both cases so officers are warning people to take extra care when they answer the door, and make sure the back door is locked if they answer the front door and vice versa.
The first incident happened on Friday (Aug 2) some time between 12.30-1.30pm at Seamons Close, Dunstable.
A 72 year-old woman answered the door to a man who wanted to know if Chris was at home. She said he must have the wrong house and he left. However, she then went upstairs to have a bath and when she came back down the stairs the man was in the kitchen and she became aware of two others in the house, both in balaclava type masks.
One of the men here is said to have had a Polish accent.
They demanded gold from her, threatened her and pushed her around the house while they searched for valuables, eventually taking away some items.
They tied the lady up in her bedroom and left her there before making an escape. She was able to free herself shortly after they left and phoned for help.
Two hours later, a 77 year-old man at Wood Green Road, Luton, answered his front door to a man who wanted to know if he needed any gardening doing.
While he was at the front door, two other men entered by the back door and all three then demanded gold from him, threatening him with a screwdriver. The man's wife then arrived home so she was also grabbed, both were assaulted resulting in cuts and bruising. It's unclear what was taken in this offence, if anything, at this stage.
The three men are all described as muscular - they were not wearing face coverings.
A white Range Rover and a bottle green Transit-type van were seen near to this incident by other residents - so these could have been involved.
Det Con Ian Knapgate, who is investigating, would like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious at either scene.
He can be contacted via the non-emergency number 101, or leave information at independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.