Millions in gold, jewels stolen by burglars who tunneled into downtown L.A. jewelers
Millions of dollars in gold and jewels were stolen from a downtown Los Angeles jeweler's two enormous safes after burglars tunneled into the Broadway shop through multiple reinforced walls, police said.
In a security video of the weekend break-in, a massive drill can be heard carving through the main castle-like wall, making a hole big enough for a person to slip through to enter Love Jewels, Reina de Oro at Broadway and 5th Street.
Los Angeles Police say the thieves sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning cut through a room next to the gold merchant at 510 S. Broadway. LAPD Cmdr. Lillian Carranza said the owners informed the department that the thieves took about $5 million worth of merchandise. In an interview with KTTV, the owner said the loss was upwards of $20 million.
The store with heavy security is known for being the source of bling for rappers, artists and some gangsters. On social media, the store boasts images of personal necklace tributes, gold Rolex watch straps, diamond-encrusted miniature AK-47s, M-4 trinkets and enormous racks of gold chains.
Investigators say the burglars, after entering, cut the security camera feed so there are no images of them inside the business. But LAPD forensic experts are examining the scene for fingerprints and DNA.
The jewelers uncovered the massive heist Monday morning when they arrived at their shop.
Investigators believe the likely high-level professional burglars spent several hours inside the business.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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