Hatton Garden jewel raid: gang 'tear through wall to loot hundreds of safety deposit boxes over the Bank Holiday weekend'

 
A police officer leaves the scene of Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd which was hit in a raid over the Bank Holiday weekend
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A gang of jewellery thieves tore through a wall of a safety deposit box firm in London's jewellery district and looted its contents over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Hundreds of boxes of dealers' jewellery and watches were broken into in the raid on Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd, in the exclusive part of London, home to the capital's most prestigious jewellery firms.

According to a source, a rear wall was knocked through over the bank holiday weekend, causing alarms to sound. A security guard checked the building, the source added, but the front doors appeared intact, which may have allowed the thieves to continue unhindered for an extended period of time.

Police said the thieves used specialist cutting equipment to slice through heavy duty material in the raid.

Police today could not confirm when the raid actually started. Officers were called to the scene at 8.10 today.

"They were in there stripping the place for days," a source said. "I don't know how much they would have taken. It would have been filled with jewels, watches, everything."

The safe deposit firm is used mainly by jewellery dealers who sell to shops on the street. Its website describes it as "One of London’s most successful and leading safe deposit" companies.

Detectives said the thieves made off with "a number of safety deposit boxes." It was reported that around 300 boxes were broken into and looted.

Norman Bean, who has a diamond ring and bracelets stored in one of the vaults, said the burglars are believed to have entered through a lift shaft on Friday afternoon and evaded detection by security guards.

He said: "I came down and spoke to a security guard today. He said he came on Friday, the alarm was going off.

"He went downstairs, looked through the door, through the windows and couldn't see anything and came out again, that was it.

"I said well 'why didn't you open up and have a look in?' He told me he doesn't get paid enough.

A police forensics officer emerges from the Hatton Garden safe deposit centre (Picture: Getty)

"They could have been there all weekend, who knows? It's disgrace, it's like something out of a film. I can't believe it could happen."

Mr Bean said detectives told him he will find out tomorrow afternoon if his valuables have been stolen.

Diamond jewellery expert Lewis Malka, who works in Hatton Garden, explained that the boxes would mainly have been storing jewellery and loose diamonds in packets.

He said: "From what I understand it happened over the weekend and it looked like they had come in through the lift shaft and gone into the basement where the safety deposit is.

"Most of the people who have got safety deposits there are people in the trade.

High value: Jewels on display at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd store (Picture: EPA)

"I know for a fact that some of my work colleagues have got boxes down there and we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds in goods.

"The police aren't allowing anyone in yet, so no one is too sure whose box has or hasn't been touched.

"With the robbers having probably four days over the Easter weekend, there's a good chance that they went through everything."

Officers in forensic suits could be seen leaving the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit building with evidence bags and boxes.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "At approximately 08.10hrs today, Tuesday 7 April, police were called to a report of a burglary at a safety deposit business at Hatton Garden, EC1.

"The Flying Squad is investigating and detectives are currently at the scene.

"It appears that heavy cutting equipment has been used to get into a vault at the address, and a number of safety deposit boxes have been broken into."

Calls to Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd were not being returned this afternoon.

Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or contact the Met's Flying Squad on 020 8785 8655.

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