Three men made away with about RM1.7 million (S$535,000) worth of jewellery and gold bars from a goldsmith at SkyAvenue mall in Genting Highlands on Monday (Aug 17).

The heist, which happened in broad daylight, took just about two minutes, reported Malaysia's local news outlet, The Star.

Acting Pahang police chief Deputy Commissioner Azry Akmar Ayob told The Star that preliminary investigations revealed that the trio travelled to Genting Highlands in a car.

He said in a statement: "Two employees, a man and a woman, were inside, while another female employee was on a break. No one was injured.

"The masked suspects, armed with an axe and crowbars, stole five trays containing 81 pieces of jewellery weighing 2.5kg." 

Following the incident, police immediately mounted roadblocks at all entry and exit points at Genting Highlands, he told New Straits Times. 

The temporary lockdown began at 12pm on Monday and ended later that evening, reported the New Straits Times.

Footage of snaking queues up the mountainous resort were posted on social media. 

Threads user j00raaaa posted a picture of the traffic jam at around 4pm on Monday with a police car in the middle of the roadand another user, _amelianatasya, posted a video of the line of cars going up the mountain at around 5pm.

View on Threads

However, CCTV footage reportedly showed the robbers' vehicle passing through a checkpoint before the lockdown commenced, according to Berita Harian.

The suspects are still at large, the police said.

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laili.abdeen@asiaone.com