London Police Question Two Men Over $66 Million Diamond Robbery

Published on 20/08/09

London police questioned two men following their arrests yesterday in connection with the city’s largest-ever gems robbery, a 40 million-pound ($66 million) raid on Graff jewelers two weeks ago.

The arrests were made by officers from the Flying Squad, the Metropolitan Police’s anti-robbery unit, a police spokesman said today, declining to provide further details.

Two men wearing suits and armed with handguns entered Graff’s New Bond Street store on Aug. 6 and stole 43 items, including a diamond necklace, earrings, watches and bracelets. They took an employee hostage briefly before escaping. A reward of 1 million pounds was offered for information leading to their arrests.

Police released security-camera photos of the men, one white and one black, whom store employees said spoke with London accents. Cameras also captured them outside the store two days before the heist, police said.

The Sun newspaper reported that the men hired a makeup artist who used liquid latex, makeup and hair color to transform their appearances. The robbers told the makeup artist they were acting in a pop video, the Sun said. Police declined to comment on the report.

A 50-year-old man was arrested in east London on Aug. 10, questioned and released. Detectives also have recovered a handgun connected with the heist.