$4m Jewel Raiders Targeted Indian & South Asian Homes
May 02, 24(IDEX Online) - Four men have been arrested over a series of sophisticated break-ins at homes across Massachusetts, USA, in which $4m of jewelry and other valuables were stolen.
Almost all the burglaries were at the homes of people of Indian or South Asian heritage, according to the local district attorney's office.
"Investigators believe that they were targeted based on of their ethnicity relying on a belief that their households were more likely to contain precious metals, jewelry and other valuable heirlooms," it said in a statement.
The defendants were arrested in connection with 43 burglaries and break-ins across 25 towns between 2018 and 2024.
"The defendants in this case were very sophisticated. They targeted victims based on their ethnicity and then gathered information about their targets in order to strike when families were not at home," said Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.
"They were disciplined in concealing their identity, avoiding alarms and minimizing cell phone use before, during and after the breaks and using Wi-Fi jammers."
Property reported stolen includes many pieces of diamond jewelry, some worth up to $75,000 each, as well as gold bracelets, necklaces and earrings and large quantities of cash.
In some cases, items were stolen from heavy safes, weighing up to 400lbs, which were removed with the valuables still inside.
Pic courtesy Middlesex County District Attorney's Office shows some of the goods recovered.