LONDON, UK — An immigrant from Ethiopia has been charged over the robbery of £40million (USD $60 million) worth of jewels in Britain’s biggest-ever jewelery heist.
Solomun Beyene, 24, has been charged with conspiracy to rob and possession of a firearm.
Another man, Craig Calderwood, of no fixed address, was also charged over the armed raid during which two smartly dressed men took a cab to Graff Jewellers in Mayfair before producing handguns and grabbing 43 jewels.
Both men appear before Wimbledon Magistrates Court today.
A third man has been charged in connection with the £40m raid at Graff jewellers in central London.
Two shots were fired and 43 pieces of jewelery taken during the raid
Clinton Mogg, 42, from Bournemouth, was arrested following the daylight break-in on August 6. He is accused of conspiracy to rob, Scotland Yard said.
Earlier, two men appeared in court in Wimbledon following the raid in New Bond Street. Solomun Beyene, 24, of northwest London, and Craig Calderwood, 26, of no fixed abode, were both charged with conspiracy to rob and possession of a handgun.
Detectives launched a huge manhunt for two men who were captured on CCTV. Footage showed them both on the day of the raid and also visiting the jeweler two days earlier.
A £1 million reward has been offered on behalf of Graff’s insurers for information leading to the prosecution of the robbers.
The pair are accused of undertaking the audacious robbery at the New Bond Street store on August 6. They are also charged with possessing handguns.
The two men appeared in the dock flanked by five prison officers amid heightened security.
Both Beyene and Calderwood spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.
Calderwood, who has short straight red hair combed flat on his head, wore a long-sleeved white T-shirt.
Beyene, who wore a grey short-sleeved T-shirt and has heavily-tattooed forearms, looked briefly at his parents who sat in the public gallery.
Presiding magistrate Anne Packer remanded the two men in custody and ordered them to appear at Kingston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on September 1.
Solicitors acting on behalf of the two alleged robbers made no representation in court. There was no application for bail.
Speaking after the hearing, defense solicitor Antonie Xavier, who represents Beyene, said his client denies any involvement in the robbery.
He said: “It is totally denied. The CCTV shows quite clearly he could not be the person. He has always denied that he was ever near there.
“This is a shot in the dark.”
A huge manhunt was launched after the audacious raid on the central London jeweler two weeks ago.
CCTV pictures of two men talking their way past security guards before robbing the shop have been beamed around the world.
The gang forced a woman member of staff to fill a bag with 43 pieces of jewellery, including earrings, necklaces and watches, worth almost £40 million.
They used a series of getaway cars and a motorcycle to escape across the capital, firing two shots in the process.
A 50-year-old man who was held last week in Ilford, east London, has been released on bail pending further inquiries.
Sources: Sky News, Telegraph.co.uk
9 thoughts on “Ethiopian man arrested in $60 million jewelery heist in U.K.”
That is a thief for you. At least he is not caught stealing small nick knack from the grocery store. Both of these are felony, since it is above $1000. and punishable the same. At least this guy will be remember among his felon cohorts
I absolutely agree with getu.For me this guy is not a thief at all. Atleast,he is not like the other compatriots who were allegedly to be thiefs of trying to rob a 7/11 store or any other convienience stores.Although I wouldn’t advise anyone to commite a crime of any kind for there is no or little chance of getting away with it, what this guy did is way better than the fool Habeshas who were cought stealing packs of cigerettes and bottles of alcohol from liquar store.What a shame.Although the degree of a crime varies when it’s carried out with a firearm, he is still going to be treated like the fool 7/11 robbers.
Folks, think twice before you jump in deep hole once for there is no way out. This is not Addis.
I absolutely agree with getu.For me this guy is not a thief at all. Atleast,he is not like the other compatriots who were allegedly to be thiefs of trying to rob a 7/11 store or any other convienience stores.Although I wouldn’t advise anyone to commite a crime of any kind for there is no or little chance of getting away with it, what this guy did is way better than the fool Habeshas who were cought stealing packs of cigerettes and bottles of alcohol from liquar store.What a shame.Although the degree of a crime varies when it’s carried out with a firearm, he is still going to be treated like the fool 7/11 robbers.
Folks, think twice before you jump in deep hole once for there is no way out. This is not Addis.
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
A thief is a thief. Whether it is a government official stealing from the people like Woyane or the parking attendant or the gas station attendant, they are all thiefs, no differnce at all!
All thieves are the same regardless of what and how much the stole. Both Getu and Selamawi comments are rubbish to say the least.
miss selamawit, do you have a problem with people who workin grocery or been arrsted in grocery store? how do you know all this information about grocery store. let me tell you what now,some habeshes are stealing from liquor store so what. what i am trying to say is; think critically , those people who are working in grocery store are not thief. they are just hard worker ethiopians. i used to work in grocery store.i was not stealing when i was student. grocery store is a transition or survival for most ethiopians.you are trying to compare grocery store employee and those MF GANGS.FOR ME STEALING IS STEALING. IT DOESN’T MATTER 1 cigarate or 60 million dollars. both of them they will get locked up. listen and think critically selamawit respect
All thieves are equal but some thieves are more equal than others. Regardless, do not rush to judgment. Beyene is not convicted yet.
I think he should be released. This is white collar crime and should be treated just as such, in the UK white collar crimes are not considered as crimes, at least he has returned the stolen material and he should be told not to so such thing again and released. In the US people who defrauded the American people out billions of dollars are doing okay, only few ever got convicted and others have been bailed out leading a comfortable life on public dime.
innocent until proven guilty