Thieves burrow into Philippines mall, steal over $700,000 in jewelry and cash

A gloved hand picking up jewelry. Illustration photo by Freepik

The robbery took place on the eve of Dec. 31, 2023, but it was not until 11 a.m. the next day that a mall employee noticed it, as reported by The Straits Times.

Police investigations revealed that the criminals began their tunnel from a carnival, located in a nearby private area next to the mall. The tunnel led them to a drainage system and eventually to a food court inside the mall.

Upon entering the mall, the thieves broke into a jewelry store, shattering the vaults and display cases. They looted all the gold jewelry in the display cases and emptied the store’s safety vault of cash, as detailed by the local news outlet PhilStar.

In addition to the jewelry heist, the gang also tampered with an ATM inside the mall, extracting the money from it before escaping the scene.

The identities of the perpetrators are still unknown, but the local police have made significant progress by arresting a carnival employee who is believed to have assisted the thieves.