40s Arrested for Pretending to Be a Customer and Stealing Jewelry in Changwon... Lost Money to Online Gambling

A man wearing a hat, mask, and gloves is pretending to look at a gold necklace while receiving it. Video provided by Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency.

A man who pretended to be a customer, entered a jewelry store, asked to see precious metals, then stole them and fled, was arrested and detained.

Changwon Jungbu Police Station announced on the 20th that they have detained Mr. A, a man in his 40s, on suspicion of theft.

According to the police, Mr. A is accused of stealing about 27 million won worth of items, including two pure gold necklaces and one gold bracelet, from a jewelry store in Jungang-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon City, at around 5:50 p.m. on the 9th.

Wearing a mask, hat, and gloves, he entered the jewelry store and said, "I want to buy about 30 million won worth of precious metals," then asked to see the items. When the owner took them out to show him, he pretended to look around but snatched them and ran away.

It was confirmed that Mr. A committed the crime after riding a stolen motorcycle from Gimhae to Changwon that day.

Three days after the crime, on the 12th, he stole another motorcycle in Busan and attempted to steal precious metals by pretending to be a customer, showing money envelopes to store owners while visiting seven jewelry stores in Gimhae, Busan, and Yangsan, but all attempts failed.

The police analyzed CCTV footage from the stores and surrounding areas, conducted inspections, searches, and inquiries, and urgently arrested Mr. A at an apartment complex in Nambu-dong, Yangsan City, at around 3:10 p.m. on the 12th.

Mr. A sold the stolen precious metals to a jewelry store in Gimhae, and it was confirmed that he spent all the money on online gambling.

The police are strengthening preventive activities targeting jewelry stores in the province in preparation for an increase in jewelry store thefts due to rising gold prices.

A police official said, "Jewelry store owners should be especially cautious of customers who avoid revealing their identity by wearing hats, helmets, masks, gloves, etc., and we hope they improve and expand facilities so that the inside of the store can be seen from outside."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.