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HOUSTON -- A wholesale jewelry dealer was robbed at gunpoint of about $1 million worth of loose stones and gold Wednesday afternoon.

The armed robbery took place in the parking lot of a gas station in southwest Houston. It appears that the robbers had been casing their victim.

As the salesman pulled into the gas station at Kirby and Bissonnet in his rental car, the robbers pulled up in a silver Mitsubishi.

Three men jumped from the vehicle, ordered the salesman to open the trunk to remove jewelry. The gunmen then ordered the salesman to remove his vest, which was actually a jewelry vest worn by salesman to secure their items, that is what prompts investigators to suspect that the suspects had been casing their victim.

The suspects then slashed the salesman’s car tires and made their getaway.

The robbery is just the latest in a rash of attacks on wholesale jewelry salesman, who often travel with hundreds of thousands of dollars to more than $1 million worth in jewelry to sell to local jewelry stores.

It is not uncommon that given the value of the items, that the jewels and gold are not insured.

Because of the rash of similar robberies, police have re-established a task force that is working to crack down on the crimes.