Cops recover $70K worth of jewelry stolen from family at Boston airport

A California family saw their precious family jewels, worth up to $70,000, recovered after police caught the alleged thief who made off with them at Boston’s Logan Airport, officials said.

Raka and Vineet Agrawal arrived in Boston with their two kids last Wednesday and were already aboard an Uber when they realized they accidentally left behind a bag at the airport holding their jewelry.

“My husband called the police right away,” Raka told WBZ-TV. “They were able to find the bag… literally 15 minutes later, he noticed the bag was unzipped.”

Among the stolen goods was a necklace gifted to Raka on her wedding day – a family heirloom handed down from generation to generation – and Vineet’s pricey Grand Seiko watch.

Raka said her family, who lives in Los Altos, was devastated over the loss, and suggested they may have been specifically targeted over their Indian heritage, given her cultures’ knack of gifting jewels to family.

“That is how they show their love and affection, it is through jewelry,” Raka told the local outlet. “I think people are getting wise to the cultural significance of jewelry just knowing that it is a custom in Indian culture of passing down jewelry from generation to generation.”

Massachusetts State Police said they were able to zero in on a suspect through surveillance footage from the airport and data from a ridesharing service he used.

Detectives arrested the 47-year-old suspect, from Norwood, on Wednesday, and were able to locate the stolen jewels. The suspect has not been publicly named.

“Getting that phone call was just, it was a miracle,” Raka said. “We are still overwhelmed because we received some great news.”