The famous “Catwoman,” Paola Carita Gobel, has been arrested again in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after a recent raid this week. The 32-year-old woman, who is also called “Criminal Barbie,” is accused of breaking into luxury homes for at least the second time. Her method is incredibly bold, which is what makes this story so crazy.
According to Bro Bible, Gobel sneaks into very high-end apartment towers, often by renting a condo for a short time, just so she can pretend to be a real resident. Once she’s inside and has blended in, she uses her secure access to break into other homes and steal valuable items.
She doesn’t waste time on cheap stuff either. The Sun reports that Gobel targets the absolute best items: cash, expensive jewelry, fancy watches, high-end perfumes, and designer handbags. Honestly, this is terrible for anyone living in those buildings who thought they had great security.
She went to locksmith school to perfect her crimes
You’d never expect a neighbor or someone who has access to the same building to be the one robbing you. The fact that she rented a condo just to get into the building shows how much planning went into these crimes. While some people focus on expensive repairs for their luxury vehicles, this woman focused on stealing from luxury residents.
This isn’t the first time police have dealt with the stylish criminal, who always commits her crimes dressed in black, which is exactly how she earned the “Catwoman” nickname. Gobel was arrested before in May 2023 after robbing luxury apartments across several states. The State Department of Criminal Investigations in Sao Paolo revealed that she even took a locksmith course just to make sure she could get into victims’ homes.
— CHOQUEI (@choquei) October 7, 2023
BRASIL: Mulher-gato é presa após onda de assaltos em São Paulo e Minas Gerais.
Paola Carita Gobel entrava em prédios de luxo com um comparsa para, segundo a investigação, furtar dinheiro, joias, relógios, perfumes e bolsas de grifes importadas. pic.twitter.com/n7qkxmY2mF
The 2023 case had some strange twists. When police released security camera footage of her crimes, local men were reportedly “attracted by her looks,” which is a weird and unfortunate detail to focus on when someone is committing serious crimes. Police only caught her the first time after they put her under watch, forcing her to go on the run.
The police frustration was clear. Police chief Joao Prata talked about their long-running difficulty in catching her at the time. He stated, “She is already known for stealing from high-end homes. We’ve tried to arrest her before. Unfortunately, we couldn’t.” Despite all these, Gobel was only sentenced to community service and given a fine in that case. These wealthy residents probably didn’t expect this, much like how buying used luxury cars comes with warnings from experts.
It seems that light sentence definitely didn’t stop her. Her latest arrest came on November 20. To gain access this time, she reportedly used a fake name and provided police with a totally fake rental contract. She’s now facing a long list of serious charges, including use of false identities, criminal association, intentionally receiving stolen goods, trespassing, and vehicle identification tampering.
