Employees tied up in ‘massive’ New York Diamond District heist
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Wild West came to Midtown on Sunday when at least three armed bandits — one of whom wore what witnesses described as a cowboy hat — bound workers in a massive jewelry-store heist, according to police.
The crooks coolly posed as customers at Avianne and Co. in the heart of the Diamond District, browsing the bling before pulling handguns on the four workers in the shop at the time of the high-noon hold-up, cops said.
The crooks coolly posed as customers at Avianne and Co. in the heart of the Diamond District in New York City.
After restraining the workers with zip ties, the robbers raided the safe and display cases, dumping nearly all of the sparklers into at least one duffel bag before high-tailing it out onto surveillance-camera-lined West 47th Street, according to authorities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Investigators quickly recovered images of the crew they’ll use in the hunt, police sources said.
The exact take of the daring broad-daylight heist wasn’t immediately clear, in part because the owners were at first kept out of the store while detectives meticulously scoured it for evidence, sources added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Avianne and Co. bills itself as “leading celebrity jewelers” and is known for supplying hip-hop heavyweights with flashy, diamond-studded pieces, including chains and watches.
High-end clientele including Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj are among the stars known to drop five and six-figures at the diamond destination.
Last year, “Gucci Gang” rapper Lil Pump shelled out for five diamond-encrusted watches by Rolex and Audemars Piguet at Avianne and Co., to the tune of $100,000 to $200,000 — each.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sunday’s brazen robbery wasn’t the first time in recent memory that Avianne and Co. was hit.
In December 2014, a thief made off with $53,000 in bling in an old-school grab-and-run. It wasn’t immediately known whether that crook was ever apprehended.
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