Duo steal salesman's $200,000 in jewelry

Murray police are looking for two men involved in a high end jewelry heist.

Just after 10 p.m. Wednesday, a wholesale diamond salesman from Israel was walking from his car to his hotel room near 800 East and 6400 South when he was approached by two men with a gun.

The men took the briefcase and were last seen driving away in a van, said Murray Police detective Rob Hall.

"We don't believe (the robbery) to be random," Hall said.

The briefcase contained in excess of $200,000 in jewelry, he said. An airline ticket inside the briefcase was also taken.

Investigators have notified several agencies outside of Utah of the latest heist and as a precaution to be on the lookout for similar robberies.

In 2003, two men suspected of having ties to an international crime ring were arrested in Los Angeles thanks to a tip from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On June 25, 2003, a traveling salesman who had just returned to his hotel from work was robbed of $1 million in jewelry in Draper.

In February 1998, three Fred Meyer employees were robbed of $1 million in jewels outside the Cottonwood Mall.