Published: July 04, 2009 11:41 am      

Police arrest 11 suspected blue jean bandits

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police say they have arrested 11 suspects in the theft of blue jeans from high-end clothing boutiques and have recovered $10,000 worth of stolen merchandise.

Police Sgt. Lisa Keyes says officers were tipped Friday to suspicious activity at a house and arrived to find the suspects removing tags from shirts and hundreds of jeans.

Keyes said much of the merchandise had labels and security tags attached.

Atlanta boutiques have been plagued for months by a series of smash-and-grab burglaries, in which the thieves break through the windows and quickly make off with the merchandise.

Keyes said two other suspects arrested Friday were linked to an attempted break-in Thursday at a Midtown store that was hit twice last month.