Raiders Tunnel Through 3ft Concrete, Steal $10m Jewels
April 20, 25
(IDEX Online) - Raiders tunneled their way through 3ft thick concrete into a jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles and escaped with watches and jewelry worth at least $10m.
Staff at Love Jewels arrived on Monday morning (14 April) to find the safes and display cabinets had been emptied after the alarms and cameras were cut.
"They tunneled through multiple levels of concrete into the target location," said David Cuellar of the the LA police department. The FBI is investigating.
The gang is believed to have spent weeks working on the tunnel, from an empty theater building next to the store, using professional drilling equipment.
They spent five or six hours, undetected, ransacking the premises.
Initial estimates of the loss were $10m, but the store owner (who didn't want to be named) told local TV station KTTV it could be more than $20m. In an Instagram post he offered a $100,000 reward.
"They emptied both our safes and took everything we worked so hard for the last 20 years," he said.
"We had zero insurance, meaning we are left with nothing. My father did not want to do a GoFundMe.
"So all I can ask is people order from our website lovejewels.com as a way of helping us get back on our feet and showing support."
Screengrab of the hole, courtesy KTTV.