New Delhi:

In what appeared like scenes from a heist film, twenty masked men stormed into a Pune-headquartered jewellery store in the US and emptied it.

CCTV cameras at PNG Jewellers’ store in California’s Sunnyvale show the robbers, all of them masked and some in hoodies, rushing inside the store after breaking down the glass doors. The footage of the smash-and-grab robbery has been shared widely on social media.

A lone security guard was easily overpowered.

Once inside, the robbers are seen spreading out across the store and breaking all the desks where the jewelleries are kept.

Every desk appeared to have a robber pre-assigned as they went about breaking the glass and putting the loot inside backpacks.

The entire act lasted less than three minutes, per the CCTV footage. Their method indicated they were familiar with the floor’s layout as they may have closely surveyed the store before launching the hit, according to local media.

Raw video: Smash & grab robbery at Bay Area jewelry store.

Shocking video of a smash and grab robbery involving hammers and tools at Sunnyvale’s PNG Jewelers USA. Police say they’ve made five arrests and are looking for more suspects. pic.twitter.com/VauMk16Vge

— AppleSeed (@AppleSeedTX) June 15, 2024

Five suspects have been arrested, local media said.

The Pune-based jeweller on its website says from a single store in a small town to a chain of stores with a global footprint, the group got its name from the late businessman Purshottam Narayan Gadgil.

PNG Jewellers has 35 stores across India, the US, and Dubai, it says on its website.