{"id":4219,"date":"2015-04-09T18:43:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T18:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=4219"},"modified":"2015-04-09T18:43:17","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T18:43:17","slug":"uk-police-seek-gang-behind-200-million-pound-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/uk-police-seek-gang-behind-200-million-pound-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"UK police seek gang behind \u201c200 million pound\u201d heist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gold\"<\/a>British police were hunting for a gang on Wednesday who raided safety deposit boxes in London\u2019s major jewellery business district, making off with cash and gems in what local media said could be the country\u2019s biggest-ever heist.
\nThe Metropolitan Police said the thieves used heavy cutting equipment to get into the vault at the officially unnamed deposit business in Hatton Garden, home to almost 300 diamond, gold and gem dealers and more than 50 shops, where they broke into the safety boxes.
\nAccording to the Sun newspaper, the gang are thought to have tunnelled their way in through one wall to access a lift shaft at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd building on Friday, while businesses were closed for the Easter holidays.
\nThey then abseiled down to the vault and smashed their way in, an unnamed source told the paper. Other media reported that 300 boxes had been raided.
\nPolice gave no details of what was stolen but the Sun said the haul could be as much as 200 million pounds ($300 million), dwarfing the amounts taken in Britain\u2019s previous biggest heists.
\n\u201cRobbery at one of the biggest safe deposits in Hatton Garden over the Easter weekend,\u201d London gemologist Thelma West wrote on Twitter. \u201cThe loss is Huge.\u201d
\nShe said a lot of jewellers and dealers leave their stock in safe deposits over holiday periods.
\nDiamond expert Lewis Malka, who owns a business in Hatton Garden, tweeted: \u201cBig robbery at one of the safe deposits in Hatton Garden over the Easter weekend. Not good news for a lot of dealers.\u201d
\nOn its website, Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd said it was founded in 1954 and was one of the first companies in Britain to offer safe deposit boxes.
\n\u201cWe are currently one of London\u2019s most successful and leading safe deposit companies aiming to provide our clients a secure and cost-effective solution to store and protect important and irreplaceable personal belongings,\u201d it said.
\nThere was no immediate answer to phone calls or emails from the business.
\nBritain\u2019s record heist was carried out at a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, southeast of London in 2006 when robbers stole almost 53 million pounds in cash.
\nIn 2000, police foiled a daring attempt to steal 350 million pounds worth of diamonds from a display at London\u2019s Millennium Dome in what would have been the world\u2019s biggest ever robbery.<\/p>\n

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