Police raid Hatton Garden premises for stolen goods

Seven businesses were targeted by more than 50 officers during the raids, which resulted in the seizure of an estimated £140,000 of jewellery and watches.

The raids, part of Operation Beluga, are Camden Police’s response to a recent number of thefts in which high-value watches and jewellery have been stolen.

Police suspect that a small percentage of jewellers in the area may be involved in handling property stolen either in robberies or burglaries.

Warrants were executed across six jewellery premises within 35 Grenville Street and a jewellery store within 32 Hatton Garden.

Officers arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of handling stolen goods and seized more than 40 watches and jewellery items during the midday raids.

Detective superintendent Richard Tucker said: “The reason we have carried out these raids is because we are directly reducing crime and serving the whole borough of Camden and beyond.

“It’s not about disrupting law-abiding businesses. Street robberies and residential burglaries where jewellery is stolen can often end up in some jewellery premises in the Hatton Garden area.

“By disrupting that criminal activity, we are removing the ‘sales value’ of stolen property, which means burglars and robbers find it difficult to make proceeds from their crimes”

Detective chief inspector Raffaele D’Orsi, the senior investigating officer, added: “Operation Beluga sends out a clear message from the Metropolitan Police that Hatton Gardens will not be used as a clearing house for criminal proceeds.”

Image credit: The Metropolitan Police.