Robbers Steal up to $150 Million of Jewelry From Armored Truck

Charles Dharapak

As rampant crime continues in cities across the country due to many DAs’ soft-on-crime policies, robbers stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry in California.

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According to the New York Post, the criminals pulled off a heist, stealing up to $150 million in jewels from a Brink’s armored truck. Authorities said the driver of the truck was driving from one convention show to another when the thieves stole the jewelry.

The jewels were last seen at a trade show at the San Mateo event center last weekend. They were stolen out of a Brink’s truck in Northern Los Angeles County.

The jeweler did not want to reveal his name, but he said that selling jewelry is how he lives.

“My life — that’s how I live, that’s how I feed my kids … You’re looking at 19-karat yellow gold with over 100 carats of multicolored sapphire,” the jeweler said of some of his items. “Sunday, you had merchandise. Today, you don’t have anything.”

The FBI is investigating the robbery nearly one week after the crime took place.

An FBI spokeswoman noted that the truck had nearly made it to its destination when it was robbed. The criminals stole the jewelry in the desert city of Lancaster.

Brink’s argued that the total loss of the stolen jewelry was “less than $10 million.” Brink’s claimed that is what the vendors reported before the shipment took off.

“According to the information the customers provided to us before they shipped their items, the total value of the missing items is less than $10 million.”

Brink’s said they are currently working with law enforcement, and they will reimburse their customers.

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“We are working with law enforcement, and we will fully reimburse our customers for the value of their assets that were stolen, in accordance with the terms of our contract.”

CBS reported that the director of the San Mateo show, Brandy Swanson, said the 18 jewelers robbed lost more than $100 million, while vendors said they lost up to $150 million.

Swanson continued, saying that when it comes to insurance, jewelry owners tend to underestimate their inventory because the cost of insuring it for the full value would be too high.

“That’s where the discrepancy comes in. These are mom-and-pop operators,” she said. “They’re devastated. Some of these people have lost their entire livelihoods.”

This incident happened in Los Angeles County, where criminals feel emboldened due to disgraced DA George Gascon’s soft-on-crime policies. A recall petition seems to be on its way to the ballot, and in November, voters in Los Angeles County will have the opportunity to recall and replace Gascon with a tough-on-crime DA.

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