Victims of a $12.5 million London jewelry raid have offered rewards of up to $1.9 million to help recover the gems and catch the thief.
Some of the property reportedly belongs to art collector Shafira Huang, said to be a multi-millionaire Instagram influencer.
A lone thief made off with the jewelry as well as designer handbags which are worth more than $188,000 after climbing through a second floor window at a property in the upmarket Primrose Hill area of north London on December 7, London’s Met Police said.
The force has released a security camera image of the suspect wearing a dark hoodie and a grey baseball cap with his face covered.
Items taken in the break-in include a number of distinctive jewel-encrusted necklaces and bracelets, Hermes Crocodile Kelly handbags and $19,000 in cash.
Other items stolen were two De Beers butterfly diamond rings, pink sapphire earrings shaped like butterflies from Katherine Wang, and a gold, diamond and sapphire Van Cleef necklace, the BBC reported.
London Met Police
“This is a brazen offence where the suspect has entered the property while armed with an unknown weapon and violated the sanctuary of the victims’ home,” said Met detective Paulo Roberts.
“The suspect has stolen £10.4 million worth of jewellery, much of which is sentimental and unique in its design, and therefore easily identifiable,” he added.
A spokesperson for the family told the Metro they believed the heist was a “pre-planned professional job.”
“Everyone is OK, but only by 63 seconds a member of staff would have been in direct confrontation with the robber had they entered the room slightly earlier,” the spokesperson said. “I can categorically say that all windows in the house were closed.”
The homeowners, who were not at the property at the time of the burglary, are offering $625,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
They are also offering a second reward of 10 percent of the value of any items recovered.
