Burglars hit British Indians for gold amid economic downturn fears | Irish Sun

Burglars hit British Indians for gold amid economic downturn fears

Irish Sun (IANS) Friday 4th April, 2008

The soaring price of gold has caused a sudden spurt in crime in a London suburb with a large population of Indians - a community known to stash away gold jewellery at home.

Crime analysts reportedly spotted the trend in the suburb of Hounslow - home to a large number of Punjabis and Gujaratis - in March when the price of gold hit record levels in the backdrop of the global credit crunch and the deflating dollar.

In the last two weeks of March alone, thefts of jewellery from private homes accounted for more than two-thirds of all thefts in the area, local media reported.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Martin said the fact thieves did not take other high value items like televisions.

'The problem is gold is unfortunately very easy to sell on and it's easy to carry down the street without raising suspicion, unlike a 40 inch flat screen television. We say if it's precious then protect it - a small safe can cost as little as 50 pounds and that's a very effective deterrent to a thief,' he said.

Nearly 25 percent of Hounslow's population of more than 212,000 are South Asians - mostly Indians, who are also the single largest ethnic group in the area, according to the last census taken in 2001.

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