A brazen million-dollar heist went down in Northwest Miami-Dade, where two thieves hit a jewelry store hard. C4G Jewelers was the target, with surveillance footage at the 7580 NW 186th St. location showing the moment the pair made off with a safe full of valuables. An employee from the store, Adrianna Prieto, estimated the losses could be "around a million dollars, it could hit a million or a little more," according to Local 10 News.
The robbery, which happened early Monday morning, had the crooks using a steel cable connected to a hook, a method apparently sourced from a stolen tow truck found parked outside. The reconnaissance, planning, and execution of the heist suggest that it was anything but impulsive. The thieves had even taken out the cellphone signals in the vicinity, thereby disabling the alarm system. Prieto told Local 10 News, "It looks like they brought a device to cut off the signals of the cellphones," adding that "Right now, nobody has a signal in there and that's why the alarm didn't go off. They turned off the alarm like that."
The plot started to unravel when authorities tracked the stolen tow truck through GPS. Miami-Dade Police cornered two men, ages 49 and 37, in a Hialeah Gardens warehouse. However, as of now, the identities of the apprehended suspects have been kept under wraps.
Oscar Segarra, the owner of C4G Jewelers spoke about the incident in a heart-wrenching interview with NBC Miami, saying, "This is the nightmare I never wanted. And it happened today." Segarra revealed that the thieves took not only half a million in jewelry but nearly all the inventory and cash on hand. This theft hits the store particularly hard as December is traditionally their peak sales month, affecting a dozen employees anxiously preparing for the holidays.
Miami-Dade Police are urging anyone with information to step forward and contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Meanwhile, the search continues for the two accomplices last seen fleeing the scene as police closed in on the warehouse.
