Jewellery and gems value tens of millions — a conservative determine put the worth at as much as $10 million — have been stolen from a Brink’s armored truck close to Los Angeles final week, the safety firm stated, leaving some victims questioning how such a theft might have occurred.
The merchandise was loaded onto a Brink’s truck from an occasion hosted by the Worldwide Gem and Jewellery Present on July 10 in San Mateo, close to San Francisco, stated Brandy Swanson, the group’s occasion director. She stated the truck had been en route to a different exhibit 370 miles away on the Pasadena Conference Heart in Pasadena.
However below circumstances that haven’t been made public, the merchandise was taken from the truck close to Los Angeles early on Monday, stated Dana Callahan, a spokeswoman for Brink’s.
The worth of the stolen merchandise, which included a number of gold and diamond necklaces, was not instantly clear. It was additionally not clear what number of items have been taken.
One of many jewelers, who requested anonymity over safety issues given the costly jewellery he handles, estimated the whole worth of what was stolen to be between $20 million and $50 million. Ms. Callahan stated it was lower than $10 million.
“In keeping with the data the shoppers supplied to us earlier than they shipped their objects, the whole worth of the lacking objects is lower than $10 million,” Brink’s stated in an announcement. “We’re working with legislation enforcement, and we’ll absolutely reimburse our clients for the worth of their property that have been stolen, in accordance with the phrases of our contract.”
The jeweler stated that Brink’s was not being clear with the jewellery house owners and that many primary questions in regards to the loss remained unanswered.
Neither the authorities nor Brink’s disclosed particulars about what had occurred, together with the place the theft occurred and whether or not anybody was injured.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated the company was working with the native authorities however couldn’t present extra info. In its assertion, Brink’s referred to as the episode “a loss incident.”
