Robber ‘stole jewellery, called cops’
An evasive rooftop robber may have ditched his jewellery haul in a Christchurch park, then fled and anonymously called police to get the loot off his hands.
An anonymous tip-off from an untraceable number helped police find $110,000 worth of rings stolen in a heist at a boutique Christchurch mall, but police think the mysterious caller was the alleged robber.
‘‘I’m pretty certain it’s that person that we’re looking for,’’ Detective Sergeant Damon Wells said after returning the 1500 rings to their rightful owner yesterday.
A burglar raided La Bu jewellery store in the Tannery shopping complex early on November 26. They tore free a sheet of corrugated iron roofing and broke through the ceiling above an adjacent store, before punching a hole through a wall into La Bu. They then pried open several lock boxes and took rings, gemstones and cash. About 2000 rings were taken, each worth between $50 and $200.
The value of the goods made the burglary one of the biggest in Canterbury last year.
On Tuesday, the police communications centre was alerted to a black rubbish bag full of rings found near bushes in Bromley Park. Police were asked to ‘‘get there before they disappeared’’.
‘‘I’d say that they were dropped quickly and phoned in at the same time . . . I would suggest not many people would want to touch those items – it’s pretty high profile,’’ Wells said.
Earlier this month, police issued an arrest warrant for Craig Murray Shaw, 42, in relation to three commercial burglaries in Christchurch. Wells believed Shaw was also responsible for the jewellery theft and that a crisis of confidence and police pressure on Shaw’s associates may have pushed him to get the ‘‘unique’’ rings off his hands.
Shaw earlier told The Press he could not have committed the crime because his asthma was too bad.
He claimed he did not steal any rings, but received 200 in December from an acquaintance, who he declined to name, to cover a debt.
‘‘I didn’t want to take them, I didn’t know where they came from, but it was three weeks before Christmas and I had no money so I took them and sold them to one person.’’
Shaw said police later searched the property of the woman he sold them to and found the rings. She said she bought the rings off Shaw.
Police searched several homes in their hunt for Shaw, but he ‘‘obviously [has] got a lot of friends and associates within the criminal underworld,’’ Wells said. ‘‘He has quite openly professed his innocence to your newspaper, if he’s as innocent as he’s saying he is then come and tell us about it . . . an innocent person doesn’t run and hide from the police.’’
La Bu owner Mehmet Bayram was elated have his rings returned. He said they were ‘‘so beautiful’’ and understood why they were stolen. He spent 33 years building up his collection so to have them back was a blessing, he said.
‘‘I’m not angry because, you know, sometimes it’s tempting. People maybe have no money, nothing, and because my jewellery is so beautiful [they want some].
‘‘He did a good job [to steal them] so well done to him.’’
Bayram earlier said the rings, fitted with gems such as opals and tourmalines, were unique and easily recognisable. They were made by his nephew and imported from Turkey and many had a distinctive tulip branding.