Hunt for jewellery raid moped gang

POLICE are hunting for a gang of criminals who fled on mopeds after a smashand-grab raid at a high-end jewellers in central London.

Officers believe six culprits were involved in the raid at Mappin & Webb in Regent Street at around 7.20pm.

Three suspects are believed to have smashed display cabinets to escape with a high-value haul, after a hammer, axe and bats were used to break in to the store.

Three accomplices waited outside on revved-up scooters throughout yesterday’s raid, police said.

The group — two on each moped — fled t he scene i n t hree separate directions.

One pair fled in the direction of Oxford Street before their scooter was involved in a collision with a pedestrian.

The female pedestrian was not seriously injured and did not require hospital treatment.

A cyclist also swerved to avoid the scooter and crashed into a wall — but suffered only minor injuries.

There have been no reports of any other injuries.

The scooter involved in the collision was abandoned, while another scooter was later found outside the store where the original burglary took place.

Both scooters have been seized for forensic testing.

DC Matt Hollands, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “We are following up a number of active leads on this investigation.

“This raid was targeted and lasted only a few minutes.

“My team is busy collecting witness accounts and recovering vital CCTV footage of the burglary at the store, and of the suspects leaving the scene.

“We know the group panicked and rode recklessly in different directions to escape. Thankfully, no members of the public were injured.

“I’d like to appeal to those who saw the individuals involved, either at the scene or fleeing, to get in touch with police and send us any images and footage that they have.

“All the suspects wore dark motorcycle clothing and black motorcycle helmets, and a weapon has also been recovered at the scene.”

There have been no arrests, police added.

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Police at the scene.