Two arrested after brazen heist at NY Fifth Avenue jewellery store

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Two men have been arrested in connection with a brazen, daytime heist at a posh New York City jewellery store, while three other suspects were still being sought, police said on Friday.

The two men were taken into custody less than a day after five masked robbers wielding hammers stormed the Cartier jewellery store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and grabbed 16 watches.

There were shoppers in the store and the neighbourhood was filled with pedestrians at the time of the heist, which took place at about 12.30pm on Thursday (1.30am, Friday, Singapore time).

The thieves smashed a glass display case to grab the watches, police said.

Police said the watches were valued at US$709,000 (S$904,000).

Timepieces at Cartier, one of the most exclusive jewellers in the world, range from US$2,500 to more than US$60,000, according to the store's website.

Two men, Allen Williams, 35, and Roberto Grant, 33, both of Brooklyn, were in custody on Friday and charged with robbery, said New York Police Department spokeswoman Karen Anderson.

Williams also was charged with possession of criminal property.

Police were still seeking three other suspects and reviewing surveillance video from the store.

Officials at Cartier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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