Nearly £200,000 worth of jewellery stolen in raids on shops in Bedford and Luton

Police have issued CCTV images after nearly £200,000 of goods were stolen following raids on two jewellers’ shops.
MBTC Jewellery theftsMBTC Jewellery thefts
MBTC Jewellery thefts

Prem’s Jewellers in Ford End Road, Bedford, was targeted on April 12, when three men in dark clothing broke into the stop using power tools via the disused commercial property next door.

Less than a week later, at around 9pm on Wednesday, April 17, Rakesh Jewellers in Leagrave Road, Luton was also broken into.

Two men drilled through the wall of a vacant house into the store, before stuffing the jewellery in rucksacks and getting away via the empty property.

Around £85,000 worth of jewellery and £5,000 of cash was taken from the Bedford shop with around £100,000 worth of jewellery stolen from the Luton.

Police say the men, both white, were wearing dark clothing including balaclavas and gloves.

Detective Constable Tracey Litchfield said: “These are highly professional break-ins carried out with meticulous planning and methodology. We are linking in with national investigative partners as we believe this to be part of a series, but in order to help identify those responsible we are keen to hear from anyone with any knowledge about these break-ins.

“Do you know who may be carrying out these crimes, or have you been offered any Asian gold jewellery for sale in suspicious circumstances? Did you see any unusual activities in these locations at the time of the offences?

“Any information at all could prove useful to our investigation, so please contact us or Crimestoppers.

“This is by no means a victimless crime – both the affected jewellers are local businesses and we are committed to finding those responsible for these high-value, high-harm burglaries.”

Contact DC Litchfield or DC Dan Matcham with any information by calling 101, or report information online at www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report . Alternatively, you can report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the Crimestoppers website.