A heist akin to a movie plot unfolded at a luxe Miami Beach hotel, where two men made off with a haul of Hermès handbags worth nearly $2 million, authorities said. The grand theft occurred in the plush confines of the Wrist Aficionado store inside The Setai hotel on South Beach. Miami Beach Police said on a quiet early morning in March, the thieves looted the luxury goods and fled, setting off an intense investigation that has led to one arrest thus far.
According to NBC Miami, the surveillance footage captured two masked marauders muscling their way into the store with oversized, green garbage bins. The suspects, with methodical frenzy, swept dozens of high-priced Hermès Birkin bags into their makeshift loot bins. The pricey accessories, which can fetch between $20,000 and $35,000 a pop, were then hauled off in a stolen van, and an orange Hyundai Santa Fe.
The breakthrough in the case came when detectives found the Santa Fe and confronted its owner, 45-year-old Eduardo Garcia. According to the arrest report, Garcia yielded to the evidence against him and gave a full confession. “Garcia was booked into jail,” Local 10 News reported, on charges including grand theft, masked burglary, and unlawful use of a communications device.
Officials underscored the sheer audacity and value of the theft – over 60 luxury handbags stolen from under the nose of hotel security. While Garcia is facing the music for his part in the elaborate theft, the second suspect remains a ghost, with police keeping the dragnet wide and the investigation active. Authorities are piecing together this brazen act of larceny, one that has seen swanky South Beach’s veneer of serenity momentarily pierced by the urgency of crime.
The case has taken another twist as the orange Hyundai was also recognized as a suspect vehicle in another burglary at a jewelry store in Hillsborough County. The operation 10 days earlier bore similarities to the South Beach handbag heist, suggesting a serial element to the crimes. As of now, Miami Beach Police have not released any new details about the second suspect, but confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
