Tucson police said a large amount of gems stolen from a motel last year have been recovered.
The year-long investigation began last February when a vendor during the 2012 gem show reported that nearly $1 million worth of gems were stolen from a locked trailer parked at the Motel 6, at 1031 East Benson Highway.
About 1,900 gems were stolen, police said at the time. The gems, mainly rare Oregon sunstones, had a wholesale value of about $900,000, police said at the time of the theft.
Tucson police said this week that a large portion of those gems were recovered when two residences were searched recently as part of the investigation.
On Jan. 17, police recovered gems at a house in the 5000 block of East Whispering Sage. On Tuesday, police searched a second residence in the 30 block of North Los Reales Road and found about 40 more gem stones believed related to the original theft.
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Detectives also found several firearms, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, more than 100 grams of cocaine, about 1.5 pounds of marijuana and other evidence indicating drug trafficking.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.
Tucson police said the recovery of the gems was made possible by the work of burglary detectives Jeff Burton and Janice Carpenter.
