Robert Kaplan, a diamond and jewelry broker from North Carolina who’s been in the business for 40 years, could have never predicted that $1.5 million in loose diamonds and diamond jewelry would be stolen from the backseat of his rental car. Who would have thought that a simple trip to New Mexico would result in such significant losses?  

Kaplan, who had envisioned a relaxing, romantic trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, was incredibly surprised and extremely dismayed when he realized that he had left his briefcase containing $1.5 million in loose diamonds and diamond jewelry in the backseat of his rental car, and that his briefcase had been stolen by an unknown perp. The couple had made the grave mistake of pulling over at a local rest stop, and leaving the briefcase containing the valuable diamond stash in plain sight, in the backseat of the car. The briefcase had contained over 70 diamond encrusted rings and approximately 150 loose diamonds in various shapes and sizes. The loose diamonds had ranged from $2,000 to $100,000 in value.

There are no current leads as to who may be responsible for the diamond heist. The police have only one clue to go on, a photograph taken by a nearby drugstore surveillance camera of a man acting suspiciously and loitering near the diamond broker’s rental car. It is unclear as to whether the heist was planned, as police found a tracking device in the couple’s car. The police think it is possible that the robber knew exactly what he was stealing, and that he had targeted the diamond broker and was tracking his car, waiting for the right opportunity to strike and steal Kaplan’s loose diamonds and diamond jewelry hoard. Police officials state that the diamond theft could very well be a ‘professional hit’.

Unfortunately, Kaplan was not insured, due to the fact that travelling insurance is incredibly expensive for a diamond broker. “My business is finished. I have no capital to restart it…” Kaplan confessed brokenheartedly, to a local newspaper reporter.