20 Aug 2009

Pair arrested over London jewellery heist

1:47 pm on 20 August 2009

London police have arrested two men over what is thought to be Britain's biggest jewellery heist.

Two gun-toting, smartly dressed men walked into an exclusive Graff store in central London and stole 43 rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches with a retail value of 40 million pounds.

Police said the pair were arrested on Wednesday but would not issue any more details for "operational reasons" - including whether they were the same two caught on video pulling off the raid earlier this month.

A record reward of up to 1 million pounds has been offered to find those behind the robbery.

A 50-year-old man has already been arrested over the robbery, which police have said was well organised and could have involved accomplices.

The two men, dressed in grey suits and white shirts and speaking with London accents, arrived in a black taxi and threatened staff with handguns.

As they left, they dragged a female staff member with them and fired a warning shot outside. They left her behind as they raced off in a blue BMW, which they abandoned nearby, firing another shot at the ground. No one was hurt.