Bras found, with panties still at large: (New York Times)

Bras Found, With Panties Still at Large By JONATHAN MILLER Some days it doesn't pay to stop for a bite at Chuck E. Cheese's, especially if you're travelingaround with more than 100 stolen bras.

Just a day after two men and a woman made off with more than $15,000 in undergarments from a Victoria's Secret store in Jersey City, more than 100 braswere stolen from a Victoria's Secret in South Jersey.

This time the police made an arrest, although they have yet to determine whether the two crimes are related. I'm hoping it's the same people,' Lt. ChristinePetersen, a detective in the Jersey City Police Department, said yesterday. It sounds pretty good. But until we see the videotape, we can't say for sure.'

The police in Burlington Township, about 70 miles south of Jersey City, said that about 4 p.m. on Wednesday they received a call from an employee at Victoria'sSecret in the Burlington Center Mall, who said that the store had been burglarized by two men and a woman.

Minutes later, the police there responded to another call, this time a report of 'suspicious suspects' in a nearby Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant, accordingto Lt. Wayne Maver.

Inside the restaurant, Lieutenant Maver said, officers came upon Helmut Happe, 23, and Stephanie Chamba, 21, Ecuadorean immigrants from Union City, N.J.,who in their car and in their possession had 108 bras -- but no panties. Maybe a third guy got off with the other merchandise,' the lieutenant said.

Mr. Happe and Ms. Chamba are being held in the Burlington County jail, charged with shoplifting, possession of stolen property and possession of burglarytools. The police are seeking the third suspect.

On Tuesday, two men and one woman stole 189 bras and 145 panties, valued at $15,500, from the Victoria's Secret in the Newport Center Mall in Jersey City.The police had originally reported the figure at a little under $12,000, but they said that a subsequent check of the store's inventory yielded a higherfigure.

The police said the thefts were strikingly similar: three people working in concert and using shopping bags lined with aluminum foil -- known as boosterbags -- to thwart electronic detection systems.

Lieutenant Petersen said the police were still working on comparing images taken from an in-store videotape in Jersey City with photographs in BurlingtonTownship.

Lieutenant Petersen said that many people had asked her recently how someone could walk off with so many undergarments. There was a simple explanation,she said: 'Have you looked at Victoria's Secret panties? There's not much there.'