Wearing a Motorcycle Helmet Pays off In Other Ways

[holtjv]

Not seeing the benefit of wearing a helmet?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6807812.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=2015164

A motorcycle gang grabbed £2 million of jewels from an exclusive London store in just 39 seconds in a raid captured in dramatic detail on CCTV.

Six robbers on three motorcycles roared up the pavement to Mozafarian jewellers opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge.

One of the robbers smashed open the glass door with a sledgehammer before the gang, all wearing crash helmets, stormed in and smashed open display cabinets.

The haul of gems included a £500,000 diamond necklace. However, the robbers were unable to break their way into one display case containing further £3 million of gems.

Last week’s raid came nearly a fortnight after an unconnected gang seized a record £40 million of jewellery at Graff in nearby Mayfair.

Pouya Nikomagham, a sales assistant at Mozafarian, said that the highly organised gang members did not say a word as they raided the store.

“They were very professional, they knew what they were doing and where to go,” said Mr Nikomagham.

“Perhaps they sent a woman in earlier posing as a customer to check how the security door worked and location of the most valuable jewels.

“One of the robbers tried to get into a display case which had £3 million of jewels but even though he it hit 12 times with the big hammer the glass did not break.”

Staff had just finished laying out the display cases when the motorbikes pulled up outside at 10.59am on Wednesday last week.

Mr Nikomagham immediately pressed a panic button that alerted the police but officers did not arrive at the store for almost eight minutes. It took the robbers less than a minute to force open the display cases, grab the jewels and escape.

Mr Nikomagham said that the raid, the latest of a series of robberies of Central London jewellers, could result in the store shutting down.

“We have considered closing the shop for good,” he said. “It is not worth risking it, you only live once.”

There have been at least 70 similar raids so far this year.

Six men on motorcycles smashed open the door of the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge in May before snatching tens of thousands of pounds of jewellery. Another six-strong motorcycle gang attempted to raid Watches of Switzerland in Old Bond Street in February.

Detectives suspected that the smash-and-grab gangs are part of a “Fagin’s Kitchen” of between 30 and 50 loosely connected individuals, many of the them teenagers.

Scotland Yard is appealing for anyone with any information about the raid to call Barnes Flying Squad on 020-8247 4804 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

[David]

Jewelry stores in the US have guns... big guns and lots of them. I'm just say'n.

[Scuba Steve]

Would the British response be to ban motorcycle helmets?

[Jeff Higgins]

I see our local bike gang members all wearing full faced helmets with dark faceshields these days. I'm surprised it took them so long to figure this one out.

And yes, many U.S. shopkeepers are armed. I vaguely remember a case a year or more ago (maybe several) where some armed robbers stormed into a jewelry store. The brothers, or family, or whomever that owned it had several firearms stashed in strategic locations throughout the shop. The result was a quick exchange of gunfire, and every damn robber lay dead. As it should be.

The Brits are hopelessly lost on this one. I wonder if they will ever demand the right to protect themselves. Probably not.

[Rick Lee]

The bonus for wearing a full face helmet and visor here is that the speed cameras can't get your face, so the ticket processors can't match the photo with your drivers license photo. I love it!

[stomachmonkey]

Odd that it took so long for the police to show up.

My old UK office was about 100 ft to the left of that Jewelry store.

I lived in the Chelsea around the corner and would walk up one side and across the front of Harrods twice a day and there were always plenty of police around.

I guess since the IRA has stopped blowing stuff there is less security in the area.

[looneybin]

I worked in a convenience store while in college & they required all motorcycle riders to remove their helmet before they could enter the store to buy gas (this was before the days of pay at the pump)

[varmint]

elegant simplicity.

steal a couple anonymous UJM 600s. wear a full face helmet with tinted visor. hit a high value target. disappear into traffic that no cop can hope to chase you through. ditch the bikes and gear in some mall parking lot with a disabled security camera. either blend into the mass transit crowd or have a ride waiting for you.

not that i've given it much thought.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by looneybin

I worked in a convenience store while in college & they required all motorcycle riders to remove their helmet before they could enter the store to buy gas (this was before the days of pay at the pump)

I'm sure Mozafarian Jewellers has a requirement that no one rob it.