A trio of crooks stole a bag containing uncut emeralds worth 13.2 million rubles ($200,000) from a businessman in downtown Moscow, Interfax news agency reported Friday.
The 53-year-old man, the head of a gem cutting firm, was robbed at the entrance to a building on Nizhnyaya Krasnoselskaya Ulitsa at about 11.30 p.m. on Thursday, Interfax reported, citing the police.
The three robbers sprayed a gas canister into the man's face, grabbed the bag containing the emeralds and quickly fled the scene, the report said.
In addition to the uncut gems, a tablet computer and company documents were also taken from the company executive.
A police investigation is under way.
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