Thieves steal $90K worth of jewelry in Manotick heist

The owners of a specialty gift shop in Manotick are scrambling to salvage their nine-weekend sales season after thieves broke in and stole $90,000 worth of jewelry. 

For 20 years, Manotick's One World Bazaar has opened seasonally offering handmade goods purchased throughout the year from India, Indonesia and Mexico. 

This year, however, their opening season was disrupted by a burglary overnight on Sept. 29 in which the business lost its stock of jewelry.

Owner Anneka Bakker said the pieces were on sale for less than $300 and consisted of semi-precious stones like garnet, amethyst and sapphires set in silver. But when she tallied what was missing, Bakker said the 3,000 missing pieces would have retailed for $90,000. 

The thieves had been organized and professional, Bakker said, and appeared to know what they were looking for. 

Like in a cinematic jewel heist, the thieves started by spray-painting the CCTV cameras on site. After that they disconnected power to the premises and broke in. 

Once inside, they headed straight to the jewelry room of the bazaar, which is located in an old horse barn. They were only inside for a couple of minutes, Bakker said.

"It was definitely quick." 

The break-in was discovered the next morning by Shauna Wiseman, who runs marketing and e-commerce for the bazaar. 

"I came in and the power was off, and that's never a good sign," she said. "I took a walk around and sure enough, my instincts were right. I saw our jewelry room, and all of a sudden it just kind of hit me."  

The break-in had shaken her faith in humanity, she said.

"It's a place where we normally feel really safe. And all of a sudden, our space has been violated."

Police said the theft remains under investigation and encouraged anyone with information to contact them. 

The business is struggling to replace the stolen goods with new stock, Bakker said.

"Our whole business model is: open in the fall for our seasonal business, travel in the winter and curate these goods from all corners of the globe, bring them back for our fall sale. So this collection really has been curated for years. There's pieces that we'll never see again for sure."

After 20 years in business, Bakker said it was only the second notable incident of theft. "About 10 years ago someone broke in and stole like a chainsaw," she said. "They didn't want any of the handcrafted goods."

Bakker also said the business is insured, and she holds no animosity toward the thieves.

"Those people are probably in a pretty rough place in their life," she said. "I just hope that they can find some support and find a way forward to, you know, be on a bit of a better path."