$2 Million Jewelry Heist: Thieves Tunnel Through Candy Shop to Hit Simi Valley Store

In an elaborate heist, thieves in California made off with more than $2 million in jewelry and cash after breaking into a Simi Valley jewelry store’s safe by tunneling through a neighboring candy shop.

Surveillance footage from inside Dr. Conkeys Candy & Coffee shows a masked suspect crawling across the floor to avoid motion detectors before spray-painting the security camera lens. Ted Mackel, the shop’s owner, explained how the thieves entered the building through a hole in the roof over the bathroom behind his shop.

“They made a beeline for a spot behind the big shelves, where they drilled through the wall and directly into the safe at 5 Star Jewelry & Repair,” Mackel said.

Jonathan Youssef, co-owner of 5 Star Jewelry, said the thieves seemed like professionals. “They must’ve cased us,” Youssef said. The safe contained gold jewelry, luxury watches, and irreplaceable heirlooms entrusted by customers for repair. “It wasn’t until we opened the safe that we realized the full extent of the loss,” Youssef added.

The suspects were inside the candy shop and jewelry store for nearly four hours, escaping with everything from valuable merchandise to the store owner’s future and retirement. “These are families you go to church with, families your kids are in school with,” Mackel said. “When things like this happen, it’s absolutely devastating.”

As of now, Simi Valley Police have not released information about the suspects involved.

Credit: CNN Newsource

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