An Asian jewellery shop that is part of a famous global chain, has been a victim of burglary of goods worth £1.8mn in Green Street, East London.
During the raid, burglars wore gloves and stole Asian gold and diamond necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings from the famous Joyalukkas jewellery shop at Forest Gate, after smashing a hole in the wall of the shop and crawling inside in an audacious heist. They allegedly used a sledgehammer and crowbar to break in.
Joyalukkas is part of an international chain which describes itself on its website as "the world's favourite jeweller". It has many Bollywood stars like Kangana Ranaut, Madhavan, Hrithik Roshan, singer Shreya Ghosha as brand ambassadors, and claims to have over 10 million customers. Varghese Alukkas started his first jewellery showroom in 1956 and since then son Joy Alukkas has made ‘Joyalukkas’ a household name in jewellery. Joy took his first step by setting up the jewellery showroom in UAE in the year 1987, since then there has been no looking back.
The burglars are estimated to have spent around 20 minutes making the hole in the wall before the raid, which took place between 3am and 6.40am on Monday July 10. Three other men are said to have watched the premises in Green Street from 5pm the previous day, while police believe another two men also acted as lookouts.
CCTV footage released by the met Police shows two men inside the shop, one of whom wears a hoodie drawn up around his face and is sprawled on his front as he pulls jewellery out of drawers before stuffing it into a rucksack.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Pallett, of Newham CID said, "This was a meticulously planned and audacious raid on a jewellery shop with £1.8 million of items stolen.
"While we think it only took the suspects around 20 minutes to make the hole, it must have been noisy work and we would appeal for anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious to contact us."
The thieves are believed to have escaped over a wall into a builders' yard behind the shop. Some of the men are described as in their mid-30s, while one wore a distinctive pink hoodie, one a black coat and another a T-shirt and shorts.
It follows a raid at the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit Box Company in March 2016, in which an estimated £25million of items was stolen in what was described as the largest burglary in English legal history.
The Metropolitan Police said no arrests have yet been made. Officers would also like to hear from anyone who might have been offered items of jewellery for sale in the days or weeks following this incident.
No one from the company was available to comment. Anyone with information is asked to contact Newham CID on 020 8217 5414 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. You can also tweet information to police @MetCC.
Photo courtesy: Met Police
