Thieves Dressed as Workers Take Safe, $3M in Jewels

Queens crime took place a few days before the one at the Louvre
Posted Oct 29, 2025 4:30 PM CDT
Queens Jewelry Thieves Also Dressed as Construction Crew
Two of the burglars wore construction vests, police said.   (NYPD)

Three burglars, two of them dressed as construction workers, pulled off a multimillion-dollar theft in broad daylight in Queens, making off with a safe and and the jewelry inside it. The theft was valued at $3.2 million, NBC News reports. The break-in occurred around 2:20pm Oct. 16 in the Jamaica Hills neighborhood, according to New York police, who said the thieves forced open a rear door of the home to gain entry. No one was home at the time, police said, and no injuries were reported. The trio was last seen fleeing east on 84th Drive in a blue Hyundai Elantra.

The homeowner has been a burglary victim before, per WPIX. Last December, three men used sledgehammers to break the glass windows of his jewelry store in Jackson Heights, then took $800,000 worth of merchandise. Police said the three had tried to break into another jewelry store in Brooklyn. The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said his home also was burglarized about 10 years ago. He said the safe taken this month wasn't bolted to the floor, but he was still surprised the thieves could lift it. The Queens jewelry theft is unlikely to have been an homage to one at the Louvre, in which police say the suspects also dressed as construction workers, since the Paris crime occurred a few days later.

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