The authorities have charged seven men for allegedly being involved with what they describe to be the “largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.” This is according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California, on Tuesday, June 17.
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Largest Jewelry Heist In U.S. History May Land 7 Men In Prison
The press release confirmed these men allegedly stole around “100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches.” They also reportedly broke into a Brinks semitruck during the heist. These stolen jewels were leaving an international jewelry show in July 2022 near San Francisco.
Police executed search warrants on June 16, which allowed them to recover some of the jewelry. The authorities identified the suspects as Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, 31, Jazael Padilla Resto, 36, Rablo Raul Lugo Larroig, 41, Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano, 60, Jorge Enrique Alban, 33, Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, 36.
The authorities have also charged Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery. This is on top of other counts of foreign shipment and theft from interstate.
According to PEOPLE, Resto is set to stand before the court in the coming weeks. He is currently in an Arizona state prison for third-degree burglary with unlawful entry. Two of the convicted men also appeared in court on Tuesday.
The indictment mentioned that “on the evening of July 10, 2022, Mestanza, Lugo, and Alban scouted a Brinks semitruck leaving an international jewelry show in San Mateo, California with 73 bags containing millions of dollars of jewelry.”
Overnight, “Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, Presilla, Macias, and other co-conspirators followed the Brinks truck approximately 300 miles from that jewelry show in San Mateo to rest stops in Buttonwillow and Lebec, north of Los Angeles.”
7 Men Accused Of Stealing $100 Million Worth Of Diamonds, Rubies, And Other Jewels
The defendants stole 24 bags from the Brinks truck once it stopped in Lebec. Mestanza, Presilla, Alban, Lugo, and Valencia in the following days deactivated their cellphone numbers.
“Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, and Valencia are also alleged to have stolen $240,573 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in Ontario on March 2, 2022,” it said.
“Those same defendants, and Alban, allegedly then robbed a box truck driver of $57,377 worth of Apple AirTags. One of the robbers brandished a knife and threatened the driver.” The defendants allegedly tried stealing from a truck carrying around $14,081 worth of Samsung electronics on May 25, 2022.
Mestanza, Padilla, Lugo, Valencia, and Alban could face up to 20 years in prison if convincted. This is for each robbery charge, while each defendant would face up to five years in prison for the theft conspiracy charge and 10 years for each theft charge.