Smash-and-grab jewelry heist at Indian store on New Jersey: Valuables worth $1 million stolen in 1 minute

A brazen smash-and-grab heist saw masked men loot approximately $1 million in jewelry from the 9Lakha store in New Jersey, all within a staggering minute. The incident occurred on a Saturday evening when four individuals, arriving in an SUV, stormed the Indian jewelry store located on Oak Tree Road.

Surveillance footage captured the robbers using sledgehammers to smash display cases, swiftly gathering the jewelry into large plastic bags. Sonu Chauhan, the owner of the one-year-old establishment, reported that the entire operation took between 30 to 45 seconds before the perpetrators escaped in their vehicle. The robbers reportedly took the store's entire inventory.

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They had big plastic bags with them. Along with the trays, they would start dumping into those bags. Within 30 or 45 seconds, they were done. The car was there, and they got into it.

This targeted theft is not an isolated event. The area, known for its concentration of Indian jewelry stores, has become a repeated target for organized crime. Virani Jewellers, situated on the same street, experienced a similar heist in June of the previous year and again in 2022. Other Indian jewelry stores, including Ruby's Jeweller in Perth Amboy, Reema Jewellers in Jersey City, and Popular London Jewel, also in Jersey City, have fallen victim to similar tactics in recent years.

Sushmita Chauhan, co-owner of 9Lakha, expressed a desire for government or town intervention, suggesting preventative measures rather than reactive responses. She indicated that the street could benefit from increased security or insurance support to mitigate such losses.

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It would be very beneficial to see if the government or the town can give a little bit of insurance to the street. They should put some preventative measures rather than just going and acting after something really bad happened.