They Followed a Truck for 300 Miles. Then They Stole $100 Million in Jewelry.

New York Times

19-06-2025

The Brink's semi truck containing dozens of bags of glittering jewels and luxury watches from an international jewelry show near San Francisco pulled into a rest stop nestled among the mountains north of Los Angeles. So, too, did the thieves who were following it on a 300-mile journey.
Although specific details on how exactly they pulled off what federal prosecutors are calling 'the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history' were not available, an indictment in the case said that some had acted as lookouts while others made off with 24 bags, containing an estimated $100 million worth of goods.
Now, nearly three years later, seven men have been charged in connection with the theft, and some of the jewelry that was stolen has been recovered, the Justice Department said in a news release on Tuesday.
'This isn't a group that just woke up and met in the park and said, 'Hey, let's go follow a jewelry tractor-trailer from a jewelry show,'' said Scott Guginsky, the executive vice president of the Jewelers' Security Alliance, a trade association that tracks jewelry crimes for retailers and the police, adding that a lot of thought goes into planning such a crime.
The men who have been indicted — Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado, Jorge Enrique Alban, Jazael Padilla Resto, Eduardo Macias Ibarra, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig, Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores and Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano — each face two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment, as well as theft from interstate and foreign shipment, according to the Justice Department, which did not say how the men were caught.
Five of the men — Mr. Mestanza, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Lugo, Mr. Valencia, and Mr. Alban — were also charged with two counts of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, as well as interference with commerce by robbery, prosecutors said.
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