Three Held Over Jewel Raid

Three teenagers have been arrested in connection with a jewel raid carried out on jewellers inside London's Westfield Shopping Mall.

Three males, aged 15, 17 and 18, were arrested in Camden, north London.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the gang escaped in three cars, one of which was followed by police, before officers lost sight of it.

The thieves made-off with jewellery worth tens of thousands of pounds.

It involved a 'smash and grab' style robbery and a gang of up to 10 people who targeted jewellers inside Europe's largest urban shopping mall, in west London, during the early hours yesterday.

The thieves used sledgehammers to break into the Westfield Centre before attacking branches of De Beers and Tiffany & Co.

Security guards and police were alerted by electronic alarms but the gang sped off in several cars at about 1.20am.

Officials at Westfield, which opened in October 2008 and houses more than 250 shops, said it was the first burglary of its kind to take place. But it appeared to be the latest development in a long series of smash-and-grab attacks on jewellers and luxury stores across the capital.

Gangs of thieves, often riding stolen mopeds and armed with heavy tools, have plagued police and retailers. Goods worth more than £4 million have been taken as thieves targeted Watches of Switzerland, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana and Tiffany and Co.

In one raid on the Mozafarian store in Knightsbridge last August, gems worth more than £1 million were stolen in less than a minute. Investigators scored a success last December when six members of one gang were jailed for a total of 22 years.

A Westfield spokeswoman said a "quantity of jewellery" was stolen and that the centre would open as normal.

The spokeswoman added: "Westfield is working closely with the Metropolitan Police to identify suspects and recover property. No-one was injured during the incident which took place whilst the shopping centre was closed."

(LB/BMcC)