Raid nets £110k following a smash and grab at a fashion boutique in Westminster

BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk

Detectives from the Met’s Flying Squad are appealing for help from the public following a smash and grab at a fashion boutique in Westminster.

Police were called to Celine in Mount Street, Mayfair at around 2am on Wednesday, October 30 after a silver S-Type Jaguar approached the premises and rammed the front door to gain access.

The occupants, four men, threatened two security workers with a knife and a shotgun before they went in and stole more than £110,000 of designer goods before fleeing.

Automatic number plate recognition work has identified the vehicle travelling towards the scene from Finchley Road, while it was activated afterwards around 2.10am, travelling north towards St John’s Wood Road and Park Road.

Detectives are releasing an image of the suspect vehicle as part of their investigation.

It was displaying the number plate AP57 AVO and will have sustained damage to the front of the vehicle.

Officers ask anyone who may have seen the suspect vehicle before, or after the incident, to contact them.

They also keen to hear from anyone who may have since seen it.

Detective Constable Kevin Parley, of the Flying Squad, said: “This was an abhorrent crime that involved a group of men, armed with weapons, threatening serious violence to two unarmed security staff before stealing goods that they had no right at all to take.

“If you have any information about the vehicle in this image, no matter how insignificant
it may seem, I urge you to contact us.

“Additionally, I am asking for anyone who works in the fashion industry who may have been offered a number of Celine designer goods for sale, but is unable to account properly for where they have come from, to also contact police.”

If you have information that could assist police, call the Flying Squad on 0208 785 8655, or call 101/ tweet @MetCC ref 532/30 Oct 19. Or, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.