Soaring gold prices put jewelry refineries, stores in burglary crews’ sights

Soaring gold prices have turned the jewelry trade’s most ordinary spaces, from refineries to repair counters, into prize targets. An FBI liaison report dated April 2 warned that organized burglary crews from South America were casing jewelry businesses in New York and New Jersey, and said one planned break-in could have produced a loss of more than $100 million.

The seven-page bulletin, prepared by the FBI’s criminal division and Newark field office with the Jewelers Security Alliance and shared with JSA members on April 3, put the risk in blunt economic terms: when gold climbs, the pressure shifts from the market to the perimeter. JCK reported that gold hit an all-time high of $5,589.38 an ounce in late January after a steep rise through 2025, and was still trading around $4,675 on April 6. At those levels, refineries and transporters become especially attractive because a single successful theft can move an immense amount of value in one night.

That is why the warning matters well beyond the Northeast. The FBI’s Jewelry, Gem, and Metal Theft program, launched in 1992, says jewelry theft rings are organized, often violent and international in scope. The agency says its JAG program supports an industry-operated stolen-jewelry database maintained by JSA, while the most common U.S. fencing cities include Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and New York City. In other words, the theft may begin in New Jersey, but the liquidation can end thousands of miles away.

For retailers, pawnbrokers and repair shops, the message is immediate. The FBI says South American theft groups often surveil targets, disguise themselves as construction workers and strike on holidays, weekends or late at night and early in the morning. Warning signs include loiterers photographing or filming, people posing as contractors, attempts to reach service areas, altered cameras and unexplained outages or false alarms. That means better lighting, tighter control of back entrances, harder scrutiny of anyone near a loading dock and a fresh look at camera coverage are no longer optional details; they are part of doing business in a precious-metal market that is still unusually hot.

The Northeast alert carries national weight because the incentive is driven by price, not geography. As long as gold remains elevated, the jewelry business will keep attracting crews that understand how quickly a tray of metal, or a vault of finished goods, can become cash. In a market this high, security has become part of the cost of gold.