In a brazen theft that has baffled investigators, a criminal entered a 13-bedroom mansion on Avenue Road in London on 7 December and departed after 19 minutes with property valued at £10.4 million ($AUD20.77 million).
Among the stolen items are a Graff 10.7-carat diamond ring, two butterfly diamond rings by De Beers, a Hermès 3.03-carat ring, an aquamarine ring, and a Niloticus Lumière necklace.
The home belongs to Hong Kong socialite Shafira Huang, who is married to property developer Vincent Wan. In a social media post, she said the incident was emotionally scarring.
“What I'm sharing in this video is to remind us that what was taken from me wasn't just physical — it was deeply personal,” Huang explained.
“Moments with loved ones, markers of growth, including some of them passed down from my mother and memories that can't be replicated. I believe someone, somewhere, may know something.”
She continued: “Every clue counts — I truly believe that if the responsible party is ever brought to justice, it will spare more families from enduring such a violation of safety and trust.”
As reported by the Daily Mail, CCTV footage of the suspect stealing jewellery and other luxury products has also been released. He’s described as ‘moving like Spider-Man’ to avoid detection. Eight people were in the house at the time of the theft.
“Everyone's first impression is that this must have been an inside job. But I am of the opinion that it was not an inside job,” a spokesperson for the family said.
I cannot disclose the full picture but there were a number of coincidences that were fortunate for the thief and unfortunate for the family.
“There were so many things that went in favour of the thief that it was clearly pre-planned. He must have monitored the house, whether with inside information or not. In my opinion, he could have used a drone for surveillance to see where to gain access.”
The couple has offered a reward of up to £500,000 for information leading to the thief’s arrest and conviction.
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