San Fernando Valley's Afghan Lapis Jewelry became the latest victim in a series of sophisticated burglaries targeting Southern California jewelers, with thieves deploying blowtorches to breach store safes. The break-in occurred on Monday, as suspects accessed the store through a vacant neighboring building on Ventura Boulevard in Encino, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The culprits removed the shop's alarm and torched their way through two safes, clearing out the owner's collection of valuables, said Amin Nassiri, the owner's brother. Details sourced from CBS News highlight that this family-operated business, established over 42 years ago, was not insured, rendering the loss even more devastating. Surveillance footage captured four individuals, communicating in Spanish and meticulously evading detection while cracking the safes, a scene echoing recent thefts, such as the Glendale heist at Bidrussian Jewelry Store where blowtorches were also used.
Officials have yet to confirm a connection between these crimes, but the parallels, like those drawn from a similar incident at 5 Star Jewelry in Simi Valley, are raising concerns among small business owners. In the case of 5 Star Jewelry, approximately $2 million in merchandise vanished, leaving owner Jonathan Youssef to grapple with the significant blow to his livelihood, NBC Los Angeles noted.
The repeated use of blasé blowtorches to access the insides of safes seems to be a chilling signature of this spate of robberies, as thieves also burrowed into Love Jewels by tunneling from an abandoned theater next door. Amin Nassiri echoed the dismay felt by many small business owners in the face of such losses, "For one second, if you can imagine how would you feel if you built your life and you’re at retirement age, and everything you saved up is gone to zero, overnight," he told KTLA. In the wake of the burglary at Afghan Lapis Jewelry, an online fundraiser has been set up to aid the proprietor in repairing and restarting the store.
