A Hatton Garden Jellewers, just down the road from the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company.
The Independent reported yesterday on a burglary that took place over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. The crime took place at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company within central London’s jewellery quarter.
This is the third significant crime to occur in the area. In 2003 an estimated £1.5 million of cash valuables and jewellery were taken by a person posing as a customer from the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company. In 1978 one of the largest robberies in history occurred at the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre. Staff were robbed at gun point at the criminals headed by the Italian Valerio Viccei, stole an estimated £60 million hoard.
Police attended the scene in Hatton Garden yesterday at approximately 08:10am and instructed members of the Metropolitan’s Flying Squad to investigate the crime. The incident is believed to have taken place over the Easter weekend. It has been reported that possibly as many as 300 safety deposit boxes have been broken into.
Mr Lewis Malka, a diamond jewellery expert who works for Hatton Garden posted on Twitter …
“Quiet day in the office and then I find out one of my client’s antique bracelets was stolen in the Hatton Garden robbery.”
He then went onto to speculate about the size of the haul ….
“hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds”
“most of the people who have got safety deposits there are people in the trade.”
“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.”
Mr Malka thinks that the most probable route used by the offenders would be into the basement via the lift shaft. As both loose diamonds and also complete jewellery sets were stored within the safety deposit area in the basement.
“The police aren’t allowing anyone in yet, so no one is too sure whose box has or hasn’t been touched,” he said on yesterday morning – 7th April 2015.
“With the robbers having probably four days over the Easter weekend, there’s a good chance that they went through everything.”
As the Guardian have reported, it is most unfortunate that some of the victims of this crime do not have insurance currently in place for their safety deposit boxes. Including Knightsbridge Jeweller Mr Michael Miller who stated …
“Lots of people keep their jewellery here to reduce insurance costs”
“I just can’t believe it has happened.”
Leading Locksmiths sincerely hope that the criminals concerned are brought to justice very soon.
With thanks for the use of the photograph of Hatton Garden to © Copyright Mike Quinn and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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