Gems taken in £ 35m raid may no longer be in UK
THE diamonds stolen in the Hatton Garden heist may have already been smuggled out of Britain.
A gang of up to 10 escaped with an estimated £ 35million worth of gems, gold, cash and valuables in the safety- deposit raid over Easter. But some have put the figure at up to £ 200million.
Up to 70 boxes at a secure building in London’s Hatton Garden jewellery district were opened with heavy cutting equipment, said police.
But ex- Flying Squad detective Barry Phillips believes the gems have already been sent abroad.
He said: “It was a highly organised, sophisticated crime. It’s highly likely the gems and jewellery will have already been sourced and out of the country.” The gang hit Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd by smashing into the basement vault through the lift shaft. The raid was discovered on Tuesday as staff returned.
But detectives are hopeful there may be clues and forensic experts continued a “slow and painstaking” process yesterday.
Speculation was growing last night that the gang, including the mastermind who financed them, may be of east European origin.
Police believe they may have hired boxes under false names to study security and hope their faces may be on CCTV.
Experts think they would have included one armed with a shotgun to act as “policeman”. A former Flying Squad officer said: “His job would have been to watch their backs in case any police, guards or nosy members of the public turned up.
“The rest of the gang would have been hand- picked – including people who knew how to use the cutting equipment.”
It is believed fences – receivers of stolen property – would have been waiting to sell on the diamonds.
Diamond dealer Neil Duttson said tracing gems would be nearly impossible once diamonds are recut and polished.
But it is hoped the gang will draw attention to themselves. Mr Phillips said: “They’ve got a vast