New appeal over £1m jewellery raid

Jan 22 2013

Police are revisiting a crime scene to trace potential witnesses a week on from a £1 million armed robbery at a jewellery shop.

Two men with an axe and a gun entered ROX jewellery store in George Street, Edinburgh, at about 5.15pm last Tuesday and smashed display cabinets to steal watches, diamond necklaces and engagement rings.

The robbers, who were wearing hooded tops concealing their faces, put their haul of jewellery into rucksacks and made off on a black Honda 650 motorcycle. The bike was later found abandoned in Northumberland Street, North West Lane, along with the axe. Both have been sent for forensic analysis, said Lothian and Borders Police.

High-visibility patrols will be carried out in the area today and an incident command vehicle will be situated in Howe Street where witnesses can talk to officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Bobby Deas said: "We are revisiting the scene in order to speak to those people who may have been in the area at the time, and who may have information that can assist our enquiries.

"Officers will be in the area from mid-afternoon into the early evening, and I would encourage anyone who lives or works in the area who thinks they have any information, however small or insignificant it may seem, to speak to officers.

"At present we have a large team of detective officers dedicated to this inquiry, and as part of our ongoing work we have been carrying out extensive CCTV inquiries, along with forensic analysis. We have had an excellent response from the public following our appeals for information and I am hoping that today's activity will result in more people coming forward.

"Our inquiries have suggested the culprits may have got into a taxi after abandoning the motorcycle, and we want to speak to any taxi driver who was working in the area around 5.30pm, who thinks they may have picked up the pair in the New Town area, near to Northumberland Street. Likewise, anyone who saw two men in possession of rucksacks or bags in the Northumberland Street area is also asked to get in touch."

A spokeswoman for ROX said last week that diamond necklaces and engagement rings worth around £100,000 each had been stolen along with luxury Hublot, Corum and Girard-Perregaux watches. One of the robbers had a local accent and the other is said to be English. Both wore dark tops and jogging bottoms.

Anyone with any information can contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.