Daring diamond thieves strike jewellers across Canada: ‘This is huge’
A pair of bold diamond thieves has hit jewelry stores across Canada, switching fakes for the real thing in the blink of an eye.
“They started in July in Vancouver and worked their way right across Canada,” said Wayne Smith, the Saint John, N.B., jeweller who went public about his own robbery this month and has since heard directly from stores and police officers from coast to coast about similar heists.
“Right across Canada. Big time. This is huge.”
The thieves present themselves as a middle-aged couple arguing over how many carats to buy, and then switch real diamonds with fakes while salespeople are distracted.