Four Romanian nationals connected with an organized crime network are in custody in Missouri, charged with the theft of more than $1 million in jewelry from a Walton County (Fla.) store.

According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, three suspects — two females, one male — entered a store on State Road 30A and stole numerous pieces jewelry before fleeing the scene in a black SUV.

A Walton County investigator recognized the suspects from a 2022 case when a Rolex watch was stolen from a Miramar Beach jeweler using a sleight-of-hand technique.

A week following the April 11 theft, the suspect’s black SUV was found abandoned in Santa Rosa Beach. Investigators met with a woman who aid she had given three individuals a ride after they said their vehicle had broken down in that area.

All three descriptions the woman gave investigators matched those of the three jewelry heist suspects and video surveillance would later confirm it was the same three people.

In addition, one of the suspects had used his cell phone to communicate with the woman who had given them a ride. Investigators submitted a warrant to track the cell phone.

Through a retired New York City police officer now working for Walton County, a sheriff’s department investigator connected with a New York Police Department detective.

The detective, along with a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, confirmed the suspects were members of a Romanian criminal network with more than 1,400 members in the U.S. with warrants in more than six states.

The four suspects in the Walton County theft were identified as George Paun, 31; Stela Sava, 26; Terca Tarnovan, 31; and Vasile Lacatus, 27.

The cell phone tracking led investigators to a residence in St. Charles, Mo., where the four suspects were found and taken into custody. Sava, Tarnovan and Lacatus are each charged with grand theft of over $100,000 and conspiracy to commit grand theft for the State Road 30A theft.

Additionally, all four suspects are charged with grand theft over $20,000 and conspiracy to commit grand theft for the 2022 Rolex theft.

The U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and multiple other state and local agencies also have active investigations involving the four suspects.