Woodbridge jewelry store hit in $1 million smash-and-grab robbery
Surveillance video from 9Lakha Jewelers on Oak Tree Road shows several people dressed in black arriving in a silver vehicle. They can be seen rushing into the store with sledgehammers and bags.
Nearly $1 million worth of merchandise was stolen in less than a minute during a smash-and-grab robbery at a Woodbridge jewelry store Saturday night.
Surveillance video from 9Lakha Jewelers on Oak Tree Road shows several people dressed in black arriving in a silver vehicle. They can be seen rushing into the store with sledgehammers and bags. A still image from surveillance footage taken inside the showroom shows suspects smashing the display cases with the hammers.
Seconds later, the thieves can be seen rushing out of the store with what owners said was nearly the store's entire inventory.
"They had big plastic bags with them," said co-owner Sonu Chauhan. "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."
Sonu's wife, 9Lakha co-owner Sushmita Chauhan, said her husband was inside the showroom with a customer when the robbery happened.
"Four people walked into it with hammers, and they just started banging each one of the cases," she said. "Luckily my husband, he ran inside the office, and the customer rushed outside from here."
The robbery has been difficult for the couple, who opened 9Lakha Jewelers about a year ago after spending years saving to start the business.
"I was working here for the past 15, 16 years," said Sonu Chauhan. "I saved some money and then I came into this business...It's pretty bad."
While Sonu and Sushmita are thankful no one was hurt, they said 9Lakha isn't the first jewelry store on their street to get hit by thieves.
They told News 12 several other stores that specialize in Indian jewelry were also robbed in the past year.
"It would be very beneficial to see if the government or the town can give a little bit of insurance to the street," Sushmita Chauhan said. "Put some preventative measures rather than just going and acting after something really bad happened. Right now, we are not seeing any life losses, but who knows."
The Woodbridge Police Department confirmed it is investigating the robbery at 9Lakha Jewelers.
News 12 reached out to police to ask whether investigators are examining any possible connection between this case and other recent jewelry store robberies in the area but had not received a response as of Sunday night.
