Two jewellery store owners are giving a second thought as to how they make their livings after both were targeted in crimes that have seen a spike in the Greater Toronto Area over the past year.
“I am not even sure if it’s worth doing this business here anymore,” said Hamza Ali Nawaz. He and his father own Nawaz Jewellers in a plaza off Markham Road.
“My father worked very hard to build this business. It’s our whole life and it was taken in the matter of minutes.”
On June 30, just before 1 a.m., a group of masked males broke into the store located next door to theirs, smashed through the shared cinderblock wall and stormed into their store’s back room.
“They come inside, they took the safe and run away.”
Their entire in-store stock was inside that safe, which Nawaz says was worth nearly $2 million.
Naseer Din, who owns a jewellery store in Etobicoke, also got hit exactly two weeks before.
“They also broke through a wall, entered my business and took my vault,” he said. “This is a professional gang. They know what they’re doing.”
These two store owners join a list of others in the past few months across the GTA reporting similar crimes.
In Toronto, eight stores have been hit since January of this year.
In York, there have been less break-ins but seven jewellery store robberies in that same time span.
Hamza, who says he’s yet to get an update on his case, remains frustrated.
“There is no progress. I call them and they say like you are in a queue, so it will take time,” he said. “If they had done something sooner we might have recovered something.”
In a statement to Speakers Corner, York Regional Police insist a detective is actively investigating— but because it’s an open case, did not say where it stands currently.
In addition, neither they nor Toronto Police have said publicly whether the two crimes in their respective regions are related.
“But when incidents appear to be connected or serial in nature, they are typically assigned to our Integrated Property Crime Task Force. This specialized team investigates patterns believed to involve the same suspect or group, and a formal project is established to coordinate the response,” said a York Regional Police spokesperson.
“These investigations can be complex and, in some cases, span multiple jurisdictions, which can extend the timeline.”
Jewellers say they’re doing everything they can to prevent theft. In Nawaz’s Markham store, there are multiple security features. Customers must be buzzed in through two iron gates to enter. All display cases and their safe are also kept behind bars.
“But in this case all of that didn’t stop these guys, we need help because these types of crimes keep happening.”
Now left with little to show for their years of work, these two store owners are uncertain about their future.
“It is very terrible nowadays to do business of this kind, I am close to retiring,” Naseer said. “This was my whole livelihood and now it’s gone.”
Both men chose to speak out and share surveillance video in hopes someone can help police catch the suspects — and more importantly, get back the items stolen.
“Because right now have nothing. We are like in debt right now,” Nawaz added.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers, Toronto or York Regional Police.
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