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Real-life ‘Italian job’ jewellery scam smashed after hotel sting uncovers £2m worth of fake euros

A dozen police officers stormed the Portland Thistle Hotel in the city centre, in front of astonished Christmas shoppers and guests, and arrested four men….

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Toronto Police holdup squad’s Naughty Nine bandits list

The Toronto Police holdup squad has a naughty list.

But while those on Santa Claus’ list can expect lumps of coal during the holidays, the bandits on Staff-Insp. Mike Earl’s Naughty Nine list can look forward to a lengthy stay behind bars.

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Suspected robber shot by security guard at Toronto jewelry store

A man with a gun was believed to be preparing to rob a jewelry store in Toronto when he was confronted by a security guard and shot on Thursday afternoon, police say.

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Raiders steal £150,000 of watches from Huddersfield Beaverbrooks

Raiders have stolen almost £150,000 worth of designer watches from a Beaverbrooks in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. 

The raid, which took place at 8pm on Sunday December 21, saw the burglars enter the store via the roof, before forcing their way through two locked doors and accessing a locked display cabinet filled with designer watches.

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£1m of items stolen from Christie’s London HQ

Antiques and jewellery believed to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds has been stolen from Christie’s, one of the world’s top auctions houses. 

According to the Daily Mail, valuable works of art, including rare pieces by Fabergé – the court jewellers of Imperial Russia – were taken from Christie’s headquarters in Piccadilly, London.

Sources say that the value of the stolen items could be as high as £1m.

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New database helps jewellers identify stolen watches

A new initiative to help jewellers, pawnbrokers and police to identify and trace stolen watches is being launched in January by intelligence sharing organisation, SaferGems. 

Acting as a central database of watches’ serial numbers, the SaferGems Watch Register will enable jewellers and pawnbrokers to check the provenance of second-hand items with a single phone call or email…..

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Arkan’s Paramilitaries: Tigers Who Escaped Justice

Paramilitaries led by notorious Serbian warlord Zeljko Raznatovic, alias Arkan, fought their way through Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo – so why were none of them jailed for his unit’s crimes?

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£100k jewellery thieves ‘could be at large in Hampshire’

Detectives investigating the alleged armed robbery of a jewellery store in Sheffield have issued CCTV images of two men they would like to speak to in connection with the incident, and they believe they could be staying in Andover or elsewhere in Hampshire.

Police were called at around 11am on Tuesday 23 September following reports of an armed robbery at HL Brown Jewellers in Barkers Pool, Sheffield.

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Two Men Pistol-Whipped During Jewel Heist Near Diamond District, Police Say

MIDTOWN — A robbery crew pistol-whipped two men and stole jewelry and cellphones during a heist near the Diamond District Monday, police said.

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The year in Jewel heists: Thieves get smarter, take more loot

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-01/jewelry-heists-are-becoming-more-brutal

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