A wave of jewellery heists have hit west London with thieves swiping thousands of pounds worth of luxury items from high-end stores in exclusive neighbourhoods.
As part of the capital’s latest crimewave gangs have targeted stores in Knightsbridge, Richmond and Shepherds Bush – smashing windows, ramming SUVs into barred doors and driving motorbikes through glass store fronts.
Yet the criminals desperate to get their hands on Rolex watches and precious jewels have avoided the most obvious destination, London diamond’s district, Hatton Garden.
Home to nearly 300 jewellery business and 70 shops the area is brimming with opportunity for thieves looking to grab a handful of expensive items from a window display and make a quick buck.
However, the area has only been the target of a major heist once when in 2015, six elderly crooks known as the ‘Diamond Wheezers’ stole £25million worth of gold bullion and jewels from a safety deposit company.
There was speculation at the time the audacious job aimed to recover evidence that could have seen Terry Adams, the head of a crime family go to prison for life.
Adams, nicknamed the British Godfather, runs the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate also known as the Adams family, which has notoriously controlled the jewellery trade in Hatton Garden for years.
And sources who have worked in the area for decades told the Daily Mail that despite claims the family has less control, the gangsters are the reason local shops have avoided becoming a target of theft.
A wave of jewellery heists have hit west London with thieves swiping thousands of pounds worth of luxury items from high-end stores in exclusive neighbourhoods (Pictured: Hammer-wielding thugs break into a family-run jewellers in plush Richmond)
Home to nearly 300 jewellery business and 70 shops the area is brimming with opportunity for thieves looking to grab a handful of expensive items from a window display and make a quick buck
Sultan Jewellery in Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, was targeted by several men who smashed the shop’s windows with sledgehammers
One source said: ‘Even now traders are terrified of crossing the family, their grip is still very much on the area.
‘It would be stupid for petty criminals to try and cross them.’
The Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, Adams family or the A-Team initially wielded power through extortion from market traders.
Ran by three notorious brothers – Terry, George and Patrick (Patsy) – they were born into a working-class Irish Catholic family, living in Islington.
As their influence grew they went from extorting traders to involving themselves with armed robbery and drug trafficking.
Their prime was the early nineties, their reputation was enough to convince anyone to do as they asked and it seemed even the police had no power over them.
It is believed that the criminal family laundered their money through Hatton Garden, using a diamond merchant, Smithfield and a West End nightclub.
One of the most famous endeavors they were associated with was the 2015 heist.
Ran by three notorious brothers – Terry, George and Patrick (Patsy) – they were born into a working-class Irish Catholic family, living in Islington. Pictured: Terry Adams
The area has only been the target of a major heist once when in 2015, six elderly crooks known as the ‘Diamond Wheezers’ stole £25million worth of gold bullion and jewels from a safety deposit company
Pictured: Gold ingots found by the police at the home of co-conspirator Michael Seed in Islington
The burglars worked through the four-day weekend of the Easter and Passover Bank Holiday, when many of the nearby businesses were closed.
It was reported that they had entered the premises through a lift shaft, then drilled through the 50cm thick vault walls with a Hilti power drill.
Sources previously told the Mail that Adams could have been the mastermind behind the entire operation.
‘This street is a full of useful tips and information. It is quite possible they (the Adams firm) are the source of the robbery. A burglary of this size cannot happen just like that — out of thin air. And these people are so powerful here that they can do anything.’
There was frenzied speculation that somewhere in the vault was a piece of evidence which could have seen Adams sent to prison for the rest of his life.
One Scotland Yard source told The Mail: ‘This was never about stealing all that gold and jewellery. It was a job arranged by a Mr Big who only appears to have been interested in one particular box, the number of which he knew.
‘Once that had been identified and removed, he may have told the gang they could have their pick of whatever was there. The message would have been: ‘When the job’s done, feel free to fill your boots.’
Nowadays, London has become a playground for theft with shopkeepers and residents fed up of the mounting smash and grab raids blighting their streets.
In the latest raid, hammer-wielding thugs broke into a family-run jewellers in plush Richmond on Saturday morning.
In footage taken by a onlooker and shared widely on social media, two men can be seen swinging a larger hammer against the glass of family-owned jewellers Gregory & Co
Police were called to the Bucherer Rolex Boutique at One Hyde Park at 10.53am following reports a group of men wearing motorcycle helmets had barged in and threatened staff
Two men could be seen swinging a large hammer against the glass of Gregory & Co in front of stunned passersby.
The gang then peel away the glass and start filling a blue bag with some of the most expensive valuables on display.
Staff members inside can be seen desperately trying to claw back whatever they can before the criminals can snatch it.
Bravely, the employees then begin hitting the robbers with what appeared to be small boxes in a bid to deter them from swiping more goods – but with little success.
The thugs then flee the scene before officers can intervene.
An employee who works at a nearby store and witnessed the incident told the Daily Mail how the robbers ‘appeared out of nowhere carrying a large sledgehammer and a bag’.
They added: ‘They then started smashing the jeweller’s window up.’
Just two days earlier and several miles away, a moped gang conducted an audacious ‘high value heist’ on a jewellery shop which itself was targeted in a similar raid just over six years ago.
An image posted on social media shows smashed glass cabinets inside the boutique and an abandoned motorbike
Police launched an urgent investigation after Sultan Jewellery in Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, was attacked by several men who smashed the shop’s windows with a sledgehammer before fleeing with expensive jewellery.
Police officers were at the scene by 3.30am on Thursday – within three minutes of the raid – and were threatened with a hammer as the thieves tried to speed away on bikes.
A 33-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of aggravated burglary and remains in police custody – but several thugs escaped police.
Jack Stones, the landlord at the neighbouring Defectors Weld pub, said fresh blood was on the pavement outside the jewellers when he walked past at 7am, more than three hours after the attack.
One resident said the attack was eerily similar to another heist which saw three robbers armed with a sledgehammer smash into the shop with a Range Rover in October 2019.
Mr Khan, who only gave his surname, said: ‘It’s Shepherd’s Bush, there’s always young people causing trouble, kicking the doors of shops down and drinking. Crime around here has got so bad lately.’
Days prior, a gang smashed their way into the sought-after designer store Yves St Laurent in central London and fled with a haul of luxury handbags worth up to £30,000.
Footage taken by a passerby shows the balaclava-clad thugs clearing the shelves of the Bond Street store after ramming a black SUV through its window.
A separate picture lays bare the aftermath of the robbery as the metal security shutters were severely damaged and pieces of glass were strewn across the floor
Footage taken by a passerby shows balaclava-clad thugs clearing the shelves of the lavish Yves St Laurent store after ramming a car through its window
One was seen fleeing the scene on the back of a motorbike, as another clip showed the extent of the damage inflicted on the empty and battered shop.
A separate picture laid bare the aftermath of the robbery as the metal security shutters were severely damaged and pieces of glass were strewn across the floor.
A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed to the Mail how they witnessed the incident unravel after finishing work.
The witness told the Mail: ‘[I] was walking to my car near Yves Saint Laurent on Bond Street when I heard a loud bang.’
‘I observed a blue car being driven into the storefront window, smashing the glass.’
They described how they saw several people rush into the premises as a motorbike was positioned outside.
‘I saw [them] remove items from the store and load them into the vehicle. After this, they left the scene.’
They said they feel ‘London is no longer as safe as it used to be’, adding that they filmed from a distance ‘due to the dangerous nature of the situation’.
‘I contacted the police immediately and was informed that they were already aware of the incident and that officers would be attending shortly,’ they added.
‘I was concerned by the length of time the individuals were able to remain at the scene removing bags, and by the absence of police presence during the incident.’
And, days earlier, at the start of a week of smash and grab raids, a gang of brazen robbers, riding motorbikes, stole thousands of pounds worth of Rolex watches from the brand’s flagship store in affluent Knightsbridge.
Phone footage shows two motorbikes descending on the Bucherer Rolex Boutique at One Hyde Park as another vehicle propped open the door.
Several men were seen armed with what appeared to be crowbars as they rushed into the luxury boutique at around 10.53am on Tuesday.
And just seconds later, another motorbike driven by an individual dressed in all-black and his face covered with a helmet also emerged onto the scene.
The video came amid reports that men wearing motorcycle helmets had barged in and threatened staff with weapons before stealing several items.
The burglars were then seen fleeing the luxury store just three minutes after the incident.
Images show smashed glass cabinets and one motorbike seemingly abandoned inside the boutique, leaning against the door, as police officers speak to Rolex staff.
The Daily Mail revealed on Sunday that Tom Cruise abruptly ‘deserted’ his luxury apartment in the area because the actor felt it had become too unsafe.
A source close to the Mission Impossible star, 63, said he left his £35million pad in the towering One Hyde Park building because he felt the star-studded location had ‘declined’ recently.
