Police are hunting for a moped gang behind a ‘high value heist’ on a jewellery shop in west London that was targeted in a similar raid just over six years ago.
Sultan Jewellers in Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, was attacked by several men who smashed the shop’s windows with a sledgehammer at 3.30am on Thursday morning before fleeing with expensive jewellery.
Police officers were at the scene within three minutes and were threatened with a hammer as the thieves tried to speed away on mopeds.
A 33-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of aggravated burglary and remains in police custody. But multiple thieves escaped police.
A police cordon was in place more than 12 hours after the theft while shards of broken glass and jewellery remained strewn on the floor outside.
Jack Stones, the landlord at the neighbouring Defectors Weld pub, said fresh blood was on the pavement outside the jewellers when he walked past at 7am, more than three hours after the attack.
One resident said the attack was eerily similar to another heist which saw three robbers armed with a sledgehammer smash into the shop with a Range Rover in October 2019.
Mr Khan, who only gave his surname, said: ‘It’s Shepherds Bush, there’s always young people causing trouble, kicking the doors of shops down and drinking. Crime around here has got so bad lately.’
Sultan Jewellers in Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, was targeted by several men who smashed the shop’s windows with sledgehammers
A police cordon was in place more than 12 hours after the theft while shards of broken glass and jewellery remained strewn on the floor
Police officers were at the scene within three minutes and were threatened with a hammer as the thieves tried to speed away on mopeds
Detective Superintendent Alex Bingley, from the Met’s Central West command unit, said: ‘Quick work by our officers meant we were on the scene within minutes and able to interrupt the thieves.
‘I’d like to thank the response officers first on the scene, who were threatened with a weapon.
‘We know that incidents like this cause significant concern for businesses and residents, but we would like to reassure the public that we are working at pace to identify all those involved in this burglary.
‘We’d appeal to anyone with information about the burglary or who has CCTV or dash cam video to get in touch with the police.’
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or online, quoting reference 732/29JAN26. Information can be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.
The previous robbery saw a black Range Rover crash through the window of the e-Smart Money foreign exchange, which was linked internally to the jewellers, before a thief in a motorcycle helmet rushed out with a sledgehammer.
Bystanders were forced to take justice into their own hands and restrained one of the three robbers, Ben Wegener, as they attempted to flee on foot towards Westfield shopping centre.
Pedestrians rushed to the thief, who had dropped a bag on the ground when he fell, and attempted to restrain him, pummeling him on the street while other onlookers filmed the scenes.
One resident said the attack was eerily similar to another heist which saw three robbers armed with a sledgehammer smash into the shop with a Range Rover in October 2019
A small group then pushed the apparent thief back to the ground when he tried to rise to his feet.
Wegener, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he and two accomplices robbed the store, narrowly missing people inside.
The other two robbers escaped but Wegener pleaded guilty to robbery, dangerous driving, possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and receiving stolen goods.
Police later recovered the Range Rover, which was stolen and was displaying false number plates.
