Gardaí in Dublin are making a public appeal in an attempt to reunite €155,000 worth of watches, rings and diamonds with the original owners.
The unusual step will see members of the public asked to contact gardaí if they believe any of the valuables were stolen from them.
The items, all taken from a single premises over the course of several searches, include watches, rings and diamonds.
No arrests have been made and while investigations are ongoing, gardai said they were confident of finding the owners of the stolen goods.
“If there was a purpose of today, it is the sentimental value of some of these jewelleries, especially some of the rings. I think that it’s vital that we get these back to the owners,” Inspector Jason Miley told reporters.
“If we can even get one or two back to the rightful owner, that would be an achievement.”
He said that work is continuing to bring the culprits to justice.
“We’re following a definite line of inquiry,” Insp Miley said.
It is believed the items – which include 41 watches, 32 rings and a number of diamonds worth €55,000 – were all from burglaries.
Gardaí estimate the total value of all the items is €155,000, with the jewellery alone worth €73,000.
They have had no success so far in tracing the original owners.
Insp Miley said the searches took place over several months from February onwards, but it remains unclear when and where the items were stolen.
“We simply don’t know,” he said.
Six officers are working on the investigation and gardai believe the items are likely to have come from locations across the country – and possibly beyond.
The items span a range of values, while some appear unique – giving detectives hope that the owners can be found.
Anyone who believes an item may belong to them is being asked to contact Crumlin Garda station.
Gardaí said people will need to have some way of identifying the items as theirs, such as photographs or receipts.
Insp Miley warned that owners may have to wait until the conclusion of any trial before their valuables can be returned to them.
Among the items are what appears to be a watch from a foreign air force, while several old stopwatches were also recovered by gardaí in what Insp Miley described as “excellent police work”.
