Woman Jailed for Swapping Diamonds with Pebbles in Daring London Jewelry Heist
- The woman and two other men stole diamonds worth KSh 580 million
- She was arrested later and slapped with a five-year jail term
- Security footage showed Lakatos switching the purse with the diamonds for a duplicate in her handbag using the sleight of hand
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A jewel thief, known as Lulu Lakatos, 60, was arrested and placed under 5 years and 6 months jail term in Britain following a jewellery heist she committed with her gang.
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The woman and her gang stole diamonds valued at KSh 580 million which is equivalent to 4.2 million euros and switched them with pebbles.
To commit the crime, Lulu used a fake name, Anna, and claimed to have been sent by a wealthy Russian client so that she could gain access to the jewels from the Boodles' Jewellers in Mayfair.
Security footage
Security footage shows Lakatos switching the purse containing the diamonds for a duplicate in her handbag using the sleight of hand.
This was after she had examined, weighed the diamonds and wrapped them in tissue paper and placed them in boxes in a locked purse.
The real diamonds, according to London police, stolen in March 2016 have never been recovered.
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She escaped to France
After the heist, the thief handed her handbag over to an unknown woman and three hours later changed her clothes and made her escape for France using a train.
Lakatos had previously been convicted of theft in France and was also wanted in Switzerland for a similar crime.
Her kind of theft can be said to be daring and audacious.
For these crimes, and in her defence in court she claimed to have been mistaken for her sister who died in a car accident.
She was accompanied by two men during the Boodles' theft, Christophe Stankovic and Mickael Jovanovic who were jailed for more than three years each for pleading guilty.
Lulu Lakatos was sentenced to more than five years in prison in Britain on Wednesday, July 28, for posing as a gem expert and stealing such expensive jewellery; seven diamonds including one worth 2.2 million euros.
The conviction came moments after Lulu's arrest in France on a European arrest warrant.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
Nii Ayi Ayitey Nii Ayi Ayitey, aka Charles Ayitey, is an experienced journalist who covered Current Affairs news for Yen.com.gh from 2015-2021. He also worked for such companies as Multimedia Group Limited, Scooper, and Face2Face Africa. Nii Ayi Ayitey holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and Media Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (2015). Currently, he's studying at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Aba Afful (Copyeditor) Maame Aba serves as a copy editor at YEN.com.gh. She naturally enjoys working with words and has an eye for quality content. She has a keen interest in cyberspace and wants to see YEN.com.gh produce more impactful, thought-provoking, and error-free content. Aba has five years of experience as a content writer, blogger, author, and proofreader. She graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2017. She joined the team in 2021.
