Gems and jewelry worth millions of dollars were stolen from an armored car parked at a rest stop near Los Angeles, United States, officials said. Several agencies are investigating the action.
The robbery took place between 2 am and 2:30 am on July 11 at a gas station near Lebec, California, about 80 miles north of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The Brinks-operated vehicle was transporting the high-value items from one jewelry fair in San Mateo to another in Pasadena, according to Arnold Duke, head of the International Gem & Jewelry Show.
“I’ve been doing this professionally for 45 years and we’ve never had anything close to this,” Duke told CNN .
Sixteen merchants were affected in the robbery, in which 20 large chests of around 100 pounds each were taken, Duke said. The boxes contained gemstones, Rolex watches and thousands of loose diamonds, some of which cost around $500,000 each at wholesale. Some finished and custom parts were also stolen from the truck, he added.
“The large amount of gems and jewels would not fit in a car. It’s a staggering amount of jewelry and leaving it alone is inconceivable.”
Some of the traders involved lost as much as US$700,000 in merchandise, while larger corporations lost merchandise valued at up to US$12 million, the expert estimated.
Brinks said, however, that the insurance numbers do not indicate such a high loss.
“According to the information customers provided to us prior to submitting their items, the total value of lost items is less than US$10 million. We are working with law enforcement and will fully reimburse our customers for the value of their stolen goods in accordance with the terms of our contract,” Brinks noted to the CNN in a statement.
Duke said many jewelers do not guarantee what they are sending for the full amount, as the cost of insurance can be extremely high and depends on the safety precautions taken by Brinks trucks and their drivers.
“Many dealers know many drivers by their first name,” he said.
A merchant told the CNN that “30 years of his life’s work” were stolen in the robbery. He did not share his name or the name of his business with the CNN because of the concern of being the target of further attacks.
He expressed that he was “emotional” and “speechless” and wants “Brinks to respond” to him after losing some collectibles and unique pieces in the theft.
The FBI is assisting the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with the ongoing criminal investigation into the theft. No suspects have been identified as of Tuesday (19).
Duke noted that he shared with federal authorities videos of people attending the jewelry fairs in hopes of finding a clue to suspicious behavior.
He noted that Rolex watches and many of the diamonds have serial numbers that can make them easily traceable if found.
Source: CNN Brasil
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