Masked Robbers Steal  $500,000 Worth of Jewelry From Indian Store in Berkeley, Calif.

Another Indian jewelry store in California’s Bay Area was hit in an armed smash-and-grab robbery this past weekend.  Seven to eight suspects armed with firearms and sledgehammers forcibly entered the Bombay Jewelry Company in Berkeley around 2:07 p.m. on July 6, news reports said, citing the Berkeley Police Department. They “used sledgehammers to break display cases and brandished firearms to threaten and control the staff and customers,” the police said, adding that the total estimated loss is approximately $500,000. 

The Berkeley robbery comes less than a month after PNG Jewelers in Sunnyvale, was ransacked on June 12. Approximately 20 robbers armed with hammers, entered the store in the afternoon and began smashing display cases and stealing merchandise, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS). Five of the suspects were arrested, and police also managed to recover some of the stolen jewelry.

Surveillance video from Bombay Jewelry Company shows one robber walking by himself to the store, KTVU reported. He wasn’t let in because he was wearing a hoodie, KTVU said, adding that he was buzzed in when he took it off. That’s when he held the door open, allowing six other masked, hooded, and gloved intruders to run inside, armed with guns and sledgehammers, the sport said. They broke windows in the security area and kicked their way into the store. They smashed display cases and held the owner and several workers at gunpoint. The group showed up in two vehicles described as black and silver sedans. The police were alerted by a call from the alarm company, according to The Scanner.

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No arrests have been made so far.