Anita* was “living it up” with her newly-wedded husband in Hawaii when a distressed call from her neighbour forced them to end their honeymoon and hop on to the next available flight to Melbourne.
To their worst nightmare, the couple was informed that their house in Craigieburn - north of Melbourne - had been burgled.
“It was devastating, to say the least,” Anita told SBS Punjabi.
She and her husband had just tied the knot in a lavish ceremony just three days before their house was broken into.
“The thieves ransacked every cupboard and wardrobe in the house and vanished with two of my gold wedding sets [necaklace, earrings and bangles], rings and another piece of heirloom jewellery that had been passed down to me by my late grandmother," said Anita.
“I have a strong feeling that we were targeted and the whole thing was planned. Whoever has done it knew that we were an Indian family, recently married, and would have valuables stacked at home.”
“Now that I look back, I feel we were exactly the kind of people they usually target. It was a setback," she added.
But Anita is not alone.
Simran*, another Melbourne resident who lives in the south-eastern suburb of Noble Park had her engagement ring stolen along with an expensive gold watch and a diamond necklace while she and her husband were off to work.
“If you’re an Indian, you’d know how much we value our jewellery. More than ornaments, these are assets that you can use in times of adversity,” Simran told SBS Punjabi.
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), jewellery is the second most commonly stolen item after cash, because it is not only valuable but easy to dispose of or sell.
But this certainly isn’t unique to Australia.
The United Kingdom is a hotbed for these types of thefts.
Over $256 million worth of gold jewellery has been stolen from houses of residents of Indian descent in the UK over the past five years, according to a BBC investigation.
The probe has further uncovered that such break-ins tend to increase around festivals like Diwali when the subcontinental community indulges in buying and wearing gold ornaments, as is the tradition.
Lucknow-based jeweller Karan Kesari, who specialises in selling gold to the Indians settled abroad said he is “well aware” of the danger involved in ferrying and storing gold in foreign countries.
Jewellery is the second most commonly stolen item after cash in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology Source: Pixabay
“Many a times families come to us crying asking us to replicate the jewellery they had purchased for their daughter’s wedding. And the background story is almost always the same-that it got stolen," said Mr Kesari.
“So now we have made it a habit to advise all our NRI customers asking them to get insurance for whatever they are buying,” he added.
Brisbane-based investor Amandeep Singh's house has been burgled, not once but twice, in the past eight months.
Like many, Mr Singh's family too had a hiding place for their jewellery, which they never imagined thieves would be able to find.
“I can’t tell you exactly where we had hidden the valuables, but let me assure you, that it was stacked in the most unimaginable spot but the thieves outdid us,” said Mr Singh.
After being burnt twice, Mr Singh now has a curt warning for all fellow Indians.
“If you can afford to get your gold insured, please do that by all means or else store your valuables in a locker. But mind you, to procure a locker alone can take months in this country so think ahead or best, leave your gold in India or with some reliable family members or friends if you’re planning to go away for a holiday,” Mr Singh cautions.
*Some names have been changed to protect identity.
