Personal Consultation
By Benji, Content ManagerIn the diamond and jewelry world it is as important to be on top of the latest heist as it is to know about recent significant sales, finds, and price fluctuations. This is for the simple reason that knowing what the weak spot was, can potentially prevent the same from happening to you.
Though this recent heist was declared to be inevitable, there are definitely lessons to be learned from it.
The Incident
Unlike most other burglaries, this successful attempt that allowed the perpetrators to escape with over $500,000 worth of diamonds and jewels, took place in a parking lot of a rest stop. A man and a number of employees were on their way back from a trade show in Chicago when they decided to make a stop at the Marion rest stop between Eyota and Rochester in Minnesota. During the short time that the men were using the restroom, a van with four males wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts pulled up beside the parked car containing the goods, broke the windows, and got away with a few suitcases containing precious metals and stones. Danny Ranta, the head maintenance worker of the rest stop, claims there’s not much a person can do during this type of a situation. While this might be true, it is speculated that the criminals had staked out the victims at the trade show and followed them for six hours to the rest stop.
This is something that can be avoided with the right precautions.
Transporting Merchandise Safely
Most people know that shops and businesses must be insured, and secured with alarms, bars, cameras and additional security measures.
1. It is preferable to have an armed guard stationed in or nearby the store. The same should go for when a great deal of valuable merchandise is being transported to your place of business.
2. Never travel without the proper protection as well as trackers or monitors that can locate stolen merchandise in a case where they have been stolen.
3. Do not under any circumstances leave such valuable items in a car that is unattended or unprotected and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
4. Lastly, stops should be avoided while transporting such sensitive items. Go directly to a secure location where the jewels can be stored properly.
In order to protect the identity of the victim, the authorities are not releasing his name, but they are asking help from anyone who may have any leads. Since the crime crossed stateliness, the authorities have turned over the case to the FBI.
