Diamond Wholesaler Loses Half A Million In Diamonds In Orlando Rental Car

A diamond wholesaler visiting Florida reportedly lost $400,000 worth of loose gems in what could have been a well-orchestrated crime or a lucky lift by an ordinary burglar, police said on Wednesday.

New Jersey salesman Jain Rajesh, 47, told police that on Monday evening the half a million in diamonds had been left in a red bag in his Orlando rental car outside a buffet restaurant for 13 minutes. The bag and diamonds were gone when he returned, according to Yahoo News.

Orlando Police Sergeant Jim Young reported:

“They took the whole bag. That’s why at this point we don’t know whether he was targeted or was it a random vehicle burglary?”

Young added that investigators were perusing every possible angle.

The thief has baffled investigators, who cannot determine how he or she entered or exited the car, which was outfitted with an alarm system, because all doors had been locked and not tampered with. The driver’s side window was cracked, but very little. Nobody could have gotten in that way.

Police said the only missing items reported were the red bag of diamonds and three blank checks from the front passenger-side floorboard, says Terra.com. There had been nothing else taken or disturbed, not even a GPS device on the windshield.

Young doesn’t know whether any identifiable marks or blemishes would make the gems hard to sell at a fair price:

“In law enforcement experience, anything can be sold on the street.”

So was it a lucky burglar, a well-planned targeted theft, or could it be Rajesh using this as a diversion from a real crime? Nobody knows for sure, and investigators are baffled.