|
The Graff Diamonds robbery took place on 6 August 2009 when two men posing as customers entered the premises of Graff Diamonds in New Bond Street, London and stole jewellery worth nearly £40 million (US$65 million).〔Davenport, Justin. ("£40m Mayfair raid is biggest gems heist in British history" ). ''Evening Standard'' (London). 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.〕 It was believed to be the largest ever gems heist in Britain at the time, and the second largest British robbery after the £53 million raid on a Securitas depot in Kent in 2006.〔Edwards, Richard. ("Graff Diamonds £40 million jewellery robbery is Britain's biggest gem heist" ). ''The Daily Telegraph''. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.〕〔("Jewellery raid haul put at £40m" ). BBC. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2009.〕 The thieves' haul totalled 43 items of jewellery, consisting of rings, bracelets, necklaces and wristwatches.〔 One necklace alone has been reported as being worth more than £3.5m〔("Men convicted of £40m jewellery robbery" ). BBC. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.〕 Britain's previous largest jewellery robbery also took place at Graff's, in 2003.〔(Jewel heist: Graff robbers 'sent gems abroad' ). ''The Daily Telegraph''. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.〕 As of September 2014, none of the stolen jewels have been recovered.〔(Armed robber who stole £40m in Britain's biggest ever gems heist is jailed for 21 years ). ''Daily Mail''. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2014.〕 ==The robbery== The robbers used the services of a professional make-up artist to alter their hair by using wigs, their skin tones and their features using latex prosthetics.〔Edwards, Richard. (Graff jewel heist: £40m robbers wore disguises ). 14 August 2009. ''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved 14 August 2009.〕 The artist took four hours to apply the disguises, having been told that it was for a music video.〔 Viewing the results in a mirror, Aman Kassaye commented: "My own mother wouldn't recognise me now," to which his accomplice is reported to have laughed and replied: "That's got to be a good thing, hasn't it?" 〔Clements, Jon and Kaila, Jon. (Graff jewellery heist robber jokes 'even mum wouldn't recognise me' in latex disguise ). 14 August 2009. ''Daily Mirror''. Retrieved 14 August 2009.〕 The same make-up studio had unwittingly helped disguise members of the gang that robbed the Securitas depot in 2006.〔〔Hughes, Mark. (Jewel thieves wore latex disguises in £40m raid ). 14 August 2009. The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2009.〕 6 August 2009 at 4.40 pm, two sharply dressed men arrived at the Graff Diamonds jewellery store by taxi and once inside produced two handguns which they used to threaten staff. They made no attempt to conceal their faces from the premises' CCTV cameras due to their elaborate disguises. Even though one of the robbers was wearing leather gloves, store security allowed him entry, being used to the eccentric behaviour of some super-wealthy clients. Petra Ehnar, a shop assistant, was forced at gunpoint to empty the store's display cabinets. A total of 43 rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches were taken. She was briefly held hostage at gunpoint and was forced into the street during the getaway. She testified that the robbers told her that she would be killed if she did not carry out their demands.〔(Graff Diamonds robber Aman Kassaye jailed for 23 years ) ''The Guardian''. (6 August 2010)〕 After releasing the hostage outside the store, one of the robbers fired a shot into the air to create confusion, and both escaped the scene in a blue BMW vehicle. This vehicle was abandoned in nearby Dover Street, where a second gunshot was fired into the ground while the robbers switched to a second vehicle, a silver Mercedes. They again switched vehicles in Farm Street, after which there was no further information regarding their whereabouts.〔 All of the diamonds had been laser-inscribed with the Graff logo and a Gemological Institute of America identification number.〔(Diamond – "The Certificate" ). Graff Diamonds. Retrieved 12 August 2009.〕 Detectives investigating the robbery stated: "They knew exactly what they were looking for and we suspect they already had a market for the jewels." The suspects' details were circulated to all ports and airports but police believed they would have an elaborately prepared escape route and had already left the country.〔 The robbery was being investigated by Barnes Flying Squad, headed by Detective Chief Inspector Pam Mace. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Graff Diamonds robbery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|