‘Virani Jewellers’ in New Jersey targeted in broad daylight theft; robbers flee with jewellery worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
In a shocking daylight heist, ‘Virani Jewellers’, a prominent Indian-owned jewellery store in New Jersey, USA, was robbed on Saturday, June 7. The criminals, who struck around 12:15 PM, escaped with jewellery worth several hundred thousand dollars within minutes, making it the third major robbery targeting the business in the last 12 years, reported gujaratsamachar.com.
This is the third high-profile robbery targeting Virani Jewellers since 2013, raising concerns about targeted crimes against Indian businesses in the US.
According to preliminary reports, the robbers arrived in a black vehicle and stormed into the store, vandalising the premises and looting the showcases. The store’s CCTV cameras captured the entire incident, although the suspects’ faces were covered, complicating identification efforts.
Thankfully, no staff members were harmed during the incident.
The store has been the target of previous robberies. On June 12, 2022, masked assailants similarly raided the premises, fleeing with jewellery worth lakhs of dollars. Earlier, on October 31, 2013, Virani Jewellers’ branch in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, was robbed by a gunman wearing a Halloween mask, who forced an employee to open the safe before escaping with valuables.
The recent heist has reignited safety concerns among Indian-American business owners and prompted calls for better security measures in ethnic neighbourhoods.
Local law enforcement is currently reviewing surveillance footage and has launched an investigation into the robbery. The Indian-American community in New Jersey and New York has expressed concern over the repeated targeting of desi-owned jewellery businesses.
