A brazen thief was caught on CCTV breaking into a jewellery shop in Marylebone before making off with an entire safe.
Shocking footage shared with the Daily Mail shows the man picking the lock in the middle of the night and gaining access to the Treasures of Brazil boutique on Thayer Street in the heart of central London.
The man, wearing a bright orange jacket and equipped with a leather bag, is later seen rifling through the register and stealing around £100 in cash before casually touring the rest of the store in a desperate attempt to find more loot.
He eventually stumbles onto the shop’s safe – which luckily held nothing of value -and puts it into his bag, before making a swift exit.
Frustratingly for the shop’s owner Daiane Brambila Ferry, 40, it is just one of several incidents of thefts and robbery attempts to have taken place in and around the luxury shopping destination in recent months.
‘We see people getting robbed everyday in the area. The shop has been open for a year and a half and it has become almost a daily occurrence,’ the mother-of-two told the Daily Mail.
‘It is already hard with business rates in central London. Having the problem with security is a burden and shouldn’t be something we have to deal with.’
Just last week, a woman was able to steal two iPhones – one belonging to the store manager – from right under her nose using sneaky sleight of hand tactics.
Daiane and other shop owners have also encountered thieves trying to steal items through the letterbox by hooking them with a metal pole, while she also often sees thieves targeting members of the public right outside her doors.
A brazen thief who broke into a luxury boutique can be seen rifling through the cash register during a daring early morning robbery
After touring the rest of the store in a desperate attempt to find more loot eventually stumbles onto the shop’s safe and puts it into his bag
Treasures of Brazil owner Daiane Brambila Ferry, 40, stands in front of her shop in Marylebone, where several shops are being targeted by thieves
Recalling the recent break-in in June, Daiane was surprised over the thief’s calm demeanor and meticulous approach – seemingly having carried out similar raids before.
‘He looked in every corner and in every cupboard in case there was any loose cash.
‘The robbery wasn’t covered by insurance because it wasn’t violent,’ she added, highlighting that the costs of such thefts damage the business.
‘It is hard for us to invest in more security. I can’t afford better security. But what does security really do? Lots of shops have security and they still get robbed.’
‘The shop next door to me invested in an extra door. Some of the other businesses are locking their doors and when you do that you lose business.
‘So they are fine with losing business for the sake of keeping safe. But we don’t want to close the door or lock the door.’
The break in came almost a year after another attempt that saw a man try to steal a bag by sliding a pole through the letterbox and trying to hook it off a shelf. Luckily he was unsuccessful and eventually gave up.
Daiane says she rarely see police patrolling the street and businesses in the area often have to rely on private security firms to respond to any incidents.
She added that staff at the store are ‘constantly on edge’ as they are aware that thieves could strike at any moment. Other businesses on the street are also frequently on guard for any potential troublemakers.
‘We have a WhatsApp group for all the smaller shops in Marylebone. We kind of know people’s faces so we message each other saying to watch out as this person is around.’
Daiane wants to raise further awareness of the increasing number of thefts and hopes by doing so it will encourage police and other authorities to provide greater support for shops being targeted.
The robber, wearing a bright orange jacket and equipped with a leather bag, went through the store searching every corner and in every cupboard in case there was any loose cash
The break in came almost a year after another attempt that saw a man try to steal a bag by sliding a pole through the letterbox and trying to hook it off a shelf
The shop (pictured) only opened around a year and a half ago, but Daiane says that thefts in the area have become an almost daily occurance
Inevitably staff cannot always spot when a theft is taking place, as criminals have become ‘very clever’ and ‘cheeky’ in how they operate, Daiane said.
Last week a woman entered the shop and stole two iPhones from the pay counter while distracting the shop assistant at the same time.
CCTV footage of the brazen theft shows the woman entering the shop and approaching the staff member, Ana.
She appears to be pretending to look for earrings and begins pointing at her ear, while saying something to the staff member in another language.
The woman then takes a small piece of paper from her pocket and places it on the counter. She points at it saying ‘Portuguese, please’ as if trying to use it to communicate with the manager.
‘Our shop assistant, Ana, tried to use an online translator to understand her better, thinking she was genuinely struggling to explain what she wanted,’ Daiane explained.
‘However, while Ana’s attention was on the translation, the woman used the paper to partially cover the phones on the counter and took both.’
The woman successfully made off with Ana’s personal phone – an iPhone 13 – as well as the company’s phone – an iPhone 16 Pro – which is used to take pictures and film videos for social media.
After grabbing the phones from the counter, the thief told Ana she would come back in five minutes and left the shop, with no intention of returning.
Ana followed the woman out to the street, believing she was acting strangely. It was at that point she decided to call security, but when she went to the counter to grab her phone, she realised they were gone.
‘The manager then ran to the shop next door because she couldn’t even call security.’
‘The lady was very fast. She knew what she was doing. We did report the incident to the police but they are slow to respond.
‘That is the thing you are powerless about what is happening. Unless we create awareness what else are we to do.
‘We don’t see police patrolling. They look like they are doing something but the speed they are doing it is very slow.’
A female thief is seen speaking to the store manager before stealing two iPhones from the pay counter
The woman takes a small piece of paper from her pocket and places it on the counter which she then uses to hid her movements as she steals the two phones
In another theft that took place inside the store, a customer had their phone snatched from her pocket.
Another woman who purchased a necklace at the store returned 20 minutes later after it and her bag was stolen outside on the street.
And Ana is not the only staff member whose phone has been stolen, with one also having theirs swiped on the way home from work.
‘I always tell the girls to be on guard and to keep stuff in their bags. They might think I am being over conscience. ‘
Unfortunately for Daiane and her staff, such incidents have become commonplace across the capital.
The latest Office for National Statistics figures showed almost 81,000 robberies were recorded in England and Wales in the 12 months until June.
And in London, 33,752 cases were reported. The startling figure is slightly down on 35,169 last year, figures show.
Earlier this month the Metropolitan Police announced it had broken up a major criminal network suspected of smuggling 40,000 stolen phones from the UK to China.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘At 16:28hrs on Sunday, 22 June the Met received an online report of a theft from a shop in Thayer Street, Westminster.
‘It is alleged that a person stole money from the cash register and damaged a safe.
‘No arrests have been made at this stage and officers continue to investigate the incident. If anyone saw the incident or has any relevant information, please contact the Met on 101, quoting 01/7640777/25.’
