Armed smash and grab raiders made off with £80,000 worth of Cartier watches after targeting Mappin & Webb on Regent Street.
According to police, three suspects entered the store at about 17:40 on June 12. The first of the three suspects arrived outside the premises from the direction of Oxford Circus and is described as male, well dressed in a black suit and black trilby with a distinctive white band. He was disguised with a curly blonde wig and make-up to conceal his identity, however police have stressed that he was not pretending to be female.
He was invited into the store by the security guard monitoring the door. Once inside the premises, the man produced a handgun which he pointed at the security guard.
He was followed inside by two hooded males wearing caps, face coverings and blue jeans. These two men struck the internal display cabinets with claw hammers. One of the suspects managed to force entry to the Cartier cabinet and placed a number of Cartier watches inside a holdall.
The three suspects then ran from the shop, with the man in the trilby last seen on nearby Beak Street, while the two hooded males were seen running along Kingly St, W1.
Pictures on the London Evening Standard website show a forensics team at work at the store last night, and the damage caused by the thieves. The Evening Standard report states that the Met’s Flying Squad is investigating whether the Mappin & Webb robbery is linked to Tuesday’s early-morning raid on The Dorchester hotel, in which high-value jewellery and watches were stolen.
The Met Police has asked anyone who witnessed the robbery or the movements of the men before or after the robbery to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Police also want to hear from anyone who may have been approached by somebody selling the Cartier watches.
