$100 million in gold and gems: Thieves who committed the largest jewelry heist in the US go on trial in California

Seven men hatched a complex scheme to steal jewelry from armored vans carrying millions of dollars worth of jewelry. Criminal charges have been filed against the alleged accomplices, according to CNN.

Photo: Golden Shark | Dreamstime.com

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed March 17 sheds light on the July 2022 theft of $100 million in gold, gems and jewelry from an armored van in California, an operation prosecutors called “the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.”

According to the indictment, the ring members spotted a Brinks van leaving an international jewelry show in San Mateo, California, on July 10, 2022, and followed it south for nearly 400 miles. When the driver pulled into a truck stop in the remote town of Lebec, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles, the gang attacked the van and stole what is believed to be 24 bags of jewelry.

On the subject: Thieves stole $30 million in cash in Los Angeles: this is the largest cash robbery in the city

"I've been doing this professionally for 45 years and I've never seen anything even remotely like this before," concluded Arnold Duke, head of the International Gem and Jewellery Show, after the incident.

According to him, 16 traders suffered from the theft. The stolen items included unique handicrafts, precious stones, Rolex watches and thousands of diamonds (some of which are worth up to $500 each on the wholesale market).

Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered after agents conducted a search on June 16, prosecutors said.

Two of the suspects were scheduled to appear in federal court on June 17, and a third is serving time in Arizona on burglary charges, according to the Justice Department. CNN is not yet releasing the names of the seven defendants as it attempts to contact their attorneys.

Prosecutors said federal agents reviewed cellphone data and found that five suspects had turned off their devices after the robbery. Authorities described the gang as serial robbers who had previously targeted other van drivers.

In one alleged incident in March 2022, the robbers distracted a van driver who was stopped at a store in Ontario, California, and stole Samsung electronics from the van. That same month, prosecutors say the bandits held a truck driver at knifepoint while robbing a vehicle carrying Apple products.

The five participants in the robbery are charged with two counts of conspiracy to obstruct commerce with violence and obstruction of commerce with violence, as well as additional counts of theft from interstate and international shipments, the Justice Department said.

If convicted, the five "face a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery charge," the Justice Department said in a statement. All defendants face a maximum possible sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy to commit theft charge and 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge.

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