It’s a thieves’ paradise.
A shopping center just blocks away from Oakland’s bustling international airport has become a hotbed for car break-ins — with brazen smash-and-grab bandits targeting as many as 10 vehicles in an hour.
Oakland Airport Plaza — a shopping center on 98th Avenue that includes restaurants and a Chevron gas station — has become a hotspot for looters because it is a quiet area where travelers often stop before heading out of town to catch their flights.
“They’re doing it when people are still in the car,” airport worker, Jihad, told the San Francisco Standard, adding that he has witnessed as many as 10 smash-and-grabs in as little as an hour.
“Crazy,” he said.
Car break-ins in the Bay Area have become so pervasive that locals have a name for it: “Bipping and boosting.”
At the Oakland Airport Plaza, the break-ins have become so audacious that the shopping center has erected steel barriers to block one of the exits so thieves can’t make a quick getaway.
“From Monday and Thursday when the police are not here … there are all sorts of crimes,” plaza worker Antonio Patino told TV station KPIX.
Brazen burglars have even pilfered vehicles while the driver is still inside their car.
Tyson Wrensch was inside his parked rental Buick SUV at the plaza earlier this year when a man stole his backpack.
Surveillance footage shows the thief pull up in a Cadillac, creep up behind the SUV, pop the trunk, and swipe the bag.
The whole thing took seconds, with the bandits making a quick getaway with Wrensch’s laptop and passport.
“It’s one thing to come out and find your car broken into, and you’re upset,” Wrensch told local Fox station KTVU. “It’s another thing to be in your car and have it broken into. I mean, how can anyone feel safe anymore?”
Oakland Police Department officials acknowledge the center has had plenty of issues.
“Unfortunately, the area in and around 98th Avenue and Bigge Street has historically seen auto burglaries,” an OPD spokesperson told The San Francisco Standard.
“The Oakland Police Department continues to address auto burglaries across the city, with overtime details providing an increased presence in high-target areas.”
Rental cars remain easy targets since travelers leave their luggage and other belongings inside, assuming it would be safe while they quickly run to the gas station or one of the restaurants.
Signs warning shoppers not to leave valuables unattended are now posted throughout the plaza.
Hulya Yalcin said she stopped by the plaza to get coffee at the Starbucks on her way to Oakland International Airport in June.
When Yalcin and her family pulled up to the plaza’s parking lot, a man walked up to their SUV.
She initially thought the man was trying to wash their windows, but noticed the man instead looked into the car window and left.
Seconds later, another SUV pulled into the lot and parked near Yalcin’s vehicle. She watched in horror as thieves busted out the back window of her SUV and stole her sister’s and niece’s luggage.
“Four people, all covered face,” Yalcin told local ABC7.
“They broke the window and took all the baggage inside. … There are hardworking people going on vacation and I don’t want their vacation to turn into a nightmare like my sister.”
Auto burglaries in the area where Airport Plaza is located have seen a 32% increase compared to last year — with 2,305 incidents reported so far this year, according to Oakland Police data obtained by The Post.
While Oakland Police officials said they are placing more patrol cars to monitor the area, frustrated shoppers and those who work at the airport said it has done little to deter crime.
“It’s not gonna stop because [thieves] don’t care,” a worker told the San Francisco Standard.
