New Delhi:
Jewelery worth P10.4 million (about Rs 111 crore), along with designer handbags worth P150,000 (about Rs 1.6 crore) and P15,000 (about Rs 16 lakh) in cash, were stolen from a house in London in what is believed to be one of the biggest thefts ever from a home in the UK.
According to the Metropolitan Police, the thief is described as a man in his late 20s to 30s. He broke into the house on Avenue Road in St John's Wood, London, on December 7 by climbing through a second-floor window. BBC reported.
The owners of the house have announced a reward of P500,000 (approximately Rs 5 crore) for any information leading to the arrest of the accused in the case. A further reward is offered of 10 percent of the value of the missing items found.
Detectives are looking for the 'lone wolf' burglar who broke into the 13-bed house at around 5.11pm (local time) on December 7 and searched the rooms for five minutes before descending the stairs to the first floor, where he discovered the valuables, The Guardian reported, adding that he escaped through the same second-floor window around 5:30 p.m.
During the 19-minute heist at the 22,000-square-foot London mansion, the thief somehow managed to break into a safe where he found the jewels. The Guardian added.
The five-story mansion's security cameras captured the suspect, who was armed with a weapon. The images showed him searching rooms. His face remained covered the entire time.
There were eight people on the premises at the time of the incident, including staff and some family members.
According to police, the thief managed to escape with custom jewelery worth £10.4 million, Hermes Crocodile Kelly handbags worth £150,000 and a total of £15,000 cash.
According to The Guardian According to the report, the jewelry included a 10.73-carat Graff diamond ring, two De Beers diamond butterfly rings, a 3.03-carat Hermes ring, an aquamarine ring and a Niloticus Lumiere necklace. Also missing from the spot were items such as pink sapphire earrings from Katherine Wang in the shape of butterflies.
The suspect was wearing a dark hoodie, cargo pants and a gray baseball cap at the time of the incident.
His weapon appeared to be a “small flamethrower or canister of noxious spray” intended to incapacitate those he encountered.
The CCTV footage showed him looking for his gun every time he heard a noise in the house, while at one point he even appeared to be about to bump into a domestic helper.
Police noted that the stolen items were easily recognizable and have warned people not to sell them.