Victims of a $12.5 million London jewelry raid have offered rewards of up to $1.9 million to help them recover the gems and stop the thief.
Part of the property is believed to belong to art collector Shafira Huang, believed to be a multi-millionaire Instagram influencer.
A lone thief made off with jewelry and designer handbags worth more than $188,000 after climbing through the second floor window of a property in the upmarket Primrose Hill neighborhood in the north from London, December 7. The Met Police in London said.
The force released a security camera image of the suspect wearing a dark hoodie and gray baseball cap, with his face covered.
Items seized in the burglary include a number of distinctive jewelry-encrusted necklaces and bracelets, Hermes Crocodile Kelly handbags and $19,000 in cash.
Other stolen items were two De Beers butterfly diamond rings, butterfly-shaped pink sapphire earrings by Katherine Wang and a gold, diamond and sapphire Van Cleef necklace, according to the BBC. reported.
London met the police
“This was a flagrant offense in which the suspect entered the property while armed with an unknown weapon and violated the sanctuary of the victims’ home,” said Met Detective Paulo Roberts.
“The suspect stole jewelry worth £10.4 million, much of which is sentimental and unique in design, and therefore easily identifiable,” he added.
A family spokesperson said the metro they thought the heist was a “pre-planned professional job”.
“Everyone is fine, but just 63 seconds later a staff member would have been in direct confrontation with the thief if they had entered the room a little earlier,” the spokesperson said. “I can categorically say that all the windows in the house were closed.”
The homeowners, who were not at the scene at the time of the burglary, are offering $625,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest and conviction.
They also offer a second reward of 10 percent of the value of any item recovered.
