Crooks Rob Man of $2 Million in Jewelry

An international jewelry seller was surrounded by masked robbers at a North Hollywood intersection

A diamond seller from Israel had over $2 million worth of diamonds taken from him in a smash-and-grab heist in North Hollywood.

At 10:10 p.m., Thursday, the victim was visiting a friend in North Hollywood. The jeweler left the friend's house in his car and was stopped at a red light near the corner of Belaire and Burbank Boulevard.

He was then hit from behind by another vehicle while a second car boxed him in. That's when five to six masked suspects jumped out of the vehicle, smashed the back window and made off with a backpack with over $2 million worth of diamonds inside.

"He couldn't go anywhere because of the vehicles, and they proceeded to strike him with their fists," said Sgt. Mike Kammert.

Kammert said there were no weapons involved.

The victim then tried to chase down the suspects, but lost them in the pursuit.

The intersection at which the heist occurred was not heavily traveled at the time. There were no witnesses.

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"One would be led to believe they obviously knew who they were targeting," said Kammert.

North Hollywood police did not have a description of the men, but said one of  the cars involved in the robbery was a grey or silver SUV that might have been involved in a crash later that night. The vehicle matched the description of the vehicle involved in the diamond heist -- a silver or gold SUV.

"A radio call was put out regarding a vehicle left at a scene where it had struck a fire hydrant," said Kammert.

The victim wasn't hurt in the robbery and police said he did not have insurance. Anyone with information is urged to call North Hollywood police.

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