A group of sledgehammer-wielding crooks smashed a jewelry store window and snatched $800,000 worth of flashy merchandise during a daring Queens heist, police said Wednesday.
The three masked thieves — armed with sledgehammers and hammers — smashed through ABID Jewelers’ window and grabbed 226 gold necklaces around 6:20 p.m. on Friday in Jackson Heights, according to authorities.
Owner Abid Mukhtar said the trio “took whatever they could hold” from his store display as he stood inside.
“They had hammers. They stopped traffic up the block, clearing the front of the block,” Mukhtar told The Post.
“I was here by myself and then I went outside when they were running out.”
The masked bandits allegedly fled the 74th Street store in a black Jeep and drove to 72nd Street and 35th Avenue, where they ditched the SUV, authorities said.
They then got into a black sedan, heading in an unknown direction, according to cops.
Police believe the Jeep was previously stolen, the NYPD said.
Two days later, the brazen burglars tried to strike again in Brooklyn.
The group attempted to break the window at Pyramids Jewelry II with sledgehammers and hammers around 1:35 p.m. but failed to shatter the glass, according to cops.
They then left in a Honda Civic with Pennsylvania plates reading LKH8653 and traveled in an unknown direction.
Police released surveillance footage of the bandits from Friday’s heist, hoping to catch them.
The crime has left Mukhtar rattled.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before on this street,” he said.
“We’re here thinking we are safe here since it’s a busy area, but it still happened.”
Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/,or on X @NYPDTips.
