TWO thieves have stolen tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewellery over several hours in a well organised break-in.
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The duo targeted Purdeys Jewellers in Bridge Street East, Benalla, about midnight on Wednesday.
The pair used a ladder to climb onto a roof before removing a sheet of iron and pulling up the ladder.
They hid in the roof space as an alarm sounded and security arrived.
The front and back doors were still locked and no-one could be seen inside, so security guards left and the duo entered the store.
Detective Sergeant Shannon Murphy said the spent several hours inside and targeted locked cabinets.
They left at 4.30am after an alarm was sounded and police are now trying to track them down.
“The organisation displayed by these offenders on this occasion is not common,” he said.
“However offences of a similar nature have occurred in the past and police are investigating persons of interest.
“Police and security attended shortly after they left and located several exhibits at the scene, which will be forensically analysed to identify the offenders.”