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#33
07-13-2007, 05:24 AM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
There was a $13.6m raid on a Graff store in the UAE back in April:
http://www.ameinfo.com/116950.html "All branded diamonds like Graff are certified diamonds and they also have lazor inscriptions in the girdle of every piece. But besides these trademarks Graff diamonds are exquisite solitaries and coloured diamonds, therefore, they can be easily distinguished, making it impossible to sell them in the UAE market.” He added that even if they are moved out of UAE, it will be a difficult task to sell them. Experts also say that in the UAE, all diamonds can only be sold if there is an invoice, a law that is very important to protect the diamond trade." 
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#34
07-13-2007, 05:48 AM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
It is a bit of a nonsense when they give the retail price to indicate the size of the raid. If the actual cost of the diamonds was $1 million but they would have sold for $10 million, then was it really a $10 million robbery? I wonder what figure the insurers will pay - the cost or the retail price?
Still, it's not as misleading as when a large shipment of, say, a tonne of cocaine is seized, and news reports give the estimated value as if it had been sold on the street by the gramme!
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#35
07-13-2007, 12:16 PM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
[ QUOTE ]
It is a bit of a nonsense when they give the retail price to indicate the size of the raid. If the actual cost of the diamonds was $1 million but they would have sold for $10 million, then was it really a $10 million robbery? I wonder what figure the insurers will pay - the cost or the retail price? Still, it's not as misleading as when a large shipment of, say, a tonne of cocaine is seized, and news reports give the estimated value as if it had been sold on the street by the gramme! [/ QUOTE ] This is a good point and I'm surprised it hasn't crossed my mind before. You're right, both robberies and seizures are typically described as being of far greater value than they actually have. I'm sure if many retail goods sold at their declared retail value, the owners would be making an absolute killing.
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#36
07-13-2007, 12:27 PM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
Bit more info:
"Charles Hill, a former detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police, said the jewels are probably destined for the black market in Antwerp and Amsterdam where they could be broken down and sold as expensive scrap. Graff is based in Bond Street in the West End and has branches in New York, Monte Carlo, Dubai, Kuwait and Moscow. Boasting "the most fabulous jewels in the world", the company markets itself as one of the world's leading diamond companies. It is not the first time the firm's London stores have been targeted. The Sloane Street branch of Graff was raided in 2005 when armed robbers escaped with almost £1million in jewellery. In 2002, a Balkan group known as the Pink Panther Gang masterminded a £23million heist at Graff's store in New Bond Street, Mayfair. One thief was caught and jailed for 15 years and only £3million worth of the stolen jewellery has been recovered. Chicago mobsters also stole nearly £1.5million worth of diamonds from the Graff Knightsbridge shop in 1980. Joseph Scalise and Arthur Rachelgot escaped with the 26-carat Marlborough diamond, which was worth £400,000 at the time. They were caught in the United States and were extradited to the UK."
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#37
07-13-2007, 12:30 PM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
Info about the £23m raid on the same store in 2005:
" R v. Denic -------------------- Christian Khan acted for Mr Nebojsa Denic, whowas convicted at the Old Bailey in July 2004 of conspiracy to rob Graff's in Mayfair, in May 2002. Mr Denic was found guilty of taking part in the UK's largest ever robbery, the theft of £23m of jewellery in London's West End. £20m worth of jewels is still missing. It was just the latest in a whole series of gem shop hold ups the same gang had pulled off across Europe and even in Japan. The Graff conspiracy involved three key players, all originally from the former Yugoslavia. Nebojsa Denic, 33, and Milan Jovetic, 24, were convicted at the Old Bailey but a third man, known as "Marco", who was the alleged mastermind, remains at large. Two days after they visited the shop, posing as clients, Marco and Jovetic bought a second hand Piaggio scooter from a man in Isleworth, west London. On 20 May Denic, dressed in a smart suit and carrying an umbrella, walked into Graff and was allowed through the security door into the salesroom containing the jewellery showcases. Staff remembered how they tried not to stare at the ridiculously large black wig he was wearing. "I thought he was a rock star or had a disease," one saleswoman told the trial. Denic asked to look at a 12 carat diamond ring worth £300,000 but said: "It's too big. Do you have a smaller one?". At this point Marco was allowed into the store. Denic then reached inside his jacket and produced a .357 Magnum revolver, shouting "Get down, get down" to the staff. In the next three minutes Marco broke into two cabinets and bundled the jewels into a drawstring bag before running out with Denic. But security guard Simon Stearman ran after them and as he grappled Denic to the ground the gun went off - the bullet rebounding off a wall and hitting a passer-by a glancing blow on the nose. Marco got away with the jewels but the subsequent police investigation led to Jovetic's flat. There they found a single blue diamond worth £500,000 in a tub of baby cream - it was Jovetic's share from the robbery. Jovetic later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob Graff and to handling stolen goods. All charges against Stankovic were dropped. Of the 47 items taken from Graff only 10% have been recovered. Some stones were discovered at a New York jewel grading house, sent from Tel Aviv. The remaining £20m worth of jewels have disappeared. Detective Inspector Andy Dunn from the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad led the police investigation. He told the BBC: "This was a targeted operation. London is one of the biggest jewellery centres in Europe. But it's just one of a series of crimes committed by various East European crime gangs across Europe and possibly further afield. In Europe it's endemic." Sentencing, Judge Gerald Gordon said the men had played for "high stakes". He told Denic: "To achieve your ends you took with you a fully functional and loaded Magnum .357. "Not surprisingly, your use of it succeeded in subduing staff who were terrified and have been, in different ways, markedly and perhaps permanently affected by what you did." Denic was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to rob, six years for possessing a gun and seven years for using it to resist arrest - all to run concurrently. 'Remarkable courage' Jovetic received a five-and-a-half year jail term for conspiracy to rob and three years for handling the ring, also to run concurrently. The judge also recommended that Denic, who had arrived in the UK on a tourist visa, should be deported after completing his sentence. Judge Gordon awarded £700 each from public funds to security guards Simon Stearman and Clinton Delo for their "remarkable courage" in aiding the arrest of Denic. He also said £7,000 recovered from Jovetic's house should be shared between the two guards."
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#39
07-15-2007, 04:42 AM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
[ QUOTE ]
im pretty sure there going to get caught.. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah, but a) they gonna be the coolest dawgs in jail and b) if they are any good, they don't have the diamonds anymore on them and therefore a nice sum waiting for them when they get out. And BTW: those diamonds are only marked if they aren't blood diamonds, prolly. But no one in the western world would buy blood diamonds, aight?!?
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#40
07-15-2007, 05:51 AM
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Re: This is how you rob a store--in a Bentley
this gives me a whole new perspective on that "what do you do on the last day of your life question". this has to be an INSANSE rush.
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