Man caught swallowing £35,000 diamond ring in attempted Hatton Garden jewellery theft
A crafty thief posing as a shopper swallowed a £35,000 ring at a jeweller’s in a bid to steal it, bosses say.
Staff confronted him and he put his fingers down his throat, regurgitated the sparkler and gave it back.
The engagement ring has a large princess-cut diamond, along with several other smaller diamonds along the platinum band.
Staff realised it was missing but the man angrily protested his innocence and urged them to check his pockets.
Bosses then watched CCTV footage to discover what had happened. Images show the grey-haired man putting the ring in his mouth before allegedly swallowing it and trying to leave.
Junaid Hassan, 28, who runs the family business, said: “It was crazy. I still can’t believe it happened.
“I can’t even take paracetamol without water so I don’t know how he did it. It could have scratched his insides. He was talking normally, you couldn’t tell the ring was in there.
“We asked him to give it back and he put his fingers down his throat and retched it out.”
The suspected thief spent two hours looking at rings at the shop in the Hatton Garden jewellery quarter in central London before trying to leave, saying he would return the next day with a decision.
But Junaid’s dad, Syed, who was serving the man, noticed the ring was missing. Syed, 58, said: “I asked him nicely to give it back and he started screaming and shouting.
The man had spent several hours looking at rings in the shop
Bosses at Elegance Jewellers, which has been in Hatton Garden for more than 30 years, say they think the man was a professional thief
“We had to watch the CCTV three times before we realised he swallowed it. It was so quick.
“I said he couldn’t leave, and he calmed down knowing that we knew.
“This was the first time I’d seen anything like this. It’s lucky I caught him.”
The man regurgitated the ring before Hatton Garden security escorted him out of the shop.
Junaid said they called police on the day of the attempted raid but are not sure if the suspect was ever arrested.
Bosses at Elegance Jewellers, which has been there more than 30 years, say they think the man was a professional thief and want to warn others.
They say he even had a friend saved on his phone ready to plead with staff to let him go.
Police and security officials have been contacted for comment.
World Affairs Correspondent
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