Gem thieves have swiped around £60million of treasures from a vault, it was discovered yesterday.
Armed with heavy duty cutting tools, the gang raided 300 safety deposit boxes after apparently getting into the building via a lift shaft and disabling the alarm system from the inside.
The daring Easter weekend raid in the Hatton Garden jewellery quarter in Central London has dismayed dealers, who expect to find out today if the gems they stored have been stolen.
Norman Bean, who runs a jewellery company, claimed the vault did not have 24/7 security, making it “easy” for someone to break in.
He added: “I spoke to the security guard there and he told me an alarm went off at about 1pm on Friday.
“He said he had a look and it seemed fine, but he didn’t look inside because he wasn’t paid enough to do so.
“There’s no one here after 6pm on most days. It’s shocking.
“They could have had two days uninterrupted in there to steal everything. I asked police why they weren’t telling us anything.
“They said we’d realise why tomorrow. Maybe something awful happened.”
Norman, 68, said a pal’s half-cut aqua diamond worth £500,000 was in the vault, adding: “He’s terrified it has gone. I have £35,000 of stuff in there.”
Mohammad Shah, a 53-year-old gem wholesaler, said: “It’s a well planned job. They picked the right time considering everyone was away over the holidays.
“I had hundreds of thousands worth in there. It’s insured but some is very rare and I won’t be able to replace it.”
Another jeweller said a typical box contained valuables worth at least £25,000, but probably nearer £250,000, making an estimated total of £60million.
The raid at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd is believed to have been carried out over the Easter holiday.
Staff discovered it when they returned to work yesterday. The firm’s website said it is “one of London’s most success-ful and leading safe deposit companies”.
Scotland Yard said the Flying Squad is investigating the raid.
He said: "A friend had a half-cut aqua diamond in there. He's terrified it has gone.
"I have £35,000 of stuff in there including a pear-shaped diamond ring."
Wholesaler Mohammad Shah, who trades with local dealers, fears he had hundreds of thousands of pounds of precious stones snatched from the supposedly-secure safety deposit boxes.
The 53-year-old said: "How they got in there is a mystery. There's only one entrance and the rest is all underground.
"It's obviously a well planned job. They picked the right time for it considering everyone was away over the holidays.
"I had hundreds of thousands in there. It's insured but some of it is very rare and I won't be able to replace it."
The company allows clients to access their goods five days a week, seemingly closed at weekends.
