Watch a Scooter Gang Pull Off a Jewel Heist in London
Just one example of the 5,000 percent increase in scooter-related crime in London over the past six years.
London Metropolitan Police are investigating a robbery that occurred Wednesday morning on Basil Street in Knightsbridge, a retail district in West London. Thieves wearing dark clothing and full-face helmets broke into Boodles jewelers with sledgehammers, smashed counter displays, and stole valuable, exclusive jewelry. The six perpetrators got away on three mopeds with several witnesses watching and one recording a video of the incident which you can see below. No one was injured and no arrests have been made as of this writing.
This is just one instance of two-wheeled crime on the rise in London. The city has seen a 30 percent increase in scooter theft over the past year with many of those stolen scooters being used in other crimes. We don’t know for sure if the scooters used in this jewel heist were stolen, but it’s been a common trend in London.
The statistics for crimes using powered two-wheel vehicles are shocking. According to Motorcycle News, Metropolitan Police registered 16,158 such crimes from June 2016 to 2017 compared to 5,145 the previous year, 866 in 2014, and 317 in 2011. That’s more than a 5,000 percent increase in six years.
They often get away with it, but sometimes moped thieves mess with the wrong guy and are warded off by a man brandishing a hammer.
If you happen to have any information regarding the Boodles jewelers robbery, you can tweet @MetCC.