Smash-and-grab moped gang mount 'clinical' £60,000 sunglasses raid in north-west London

The front door and shutters were smashed open by the thieves
Hiten Patel
13 August 2015
WEST END FINAL

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A gang of smash-and-grab raiders stole sunglasses worth more than £50,000 in a "clinical and organised hit" on a luxury opticians in north-west London.

The moped raiders swiped about 200 pairs of Tom Ford, Ray-Ban and Cartier sunglasses from The Eye Cube in West Hampstead in the early hours of Tuesday.

A video filmed from across the business in West End Lane appears to show four people making a getaway from the store on two mopeds.

The thieves had shattered the glass front door and smashed through metal shutters before ransacking the shop.

Optometrist Hiten Patel, director of the company, was woken by his alarm company at 3.30am to the "devastating" news.

Mr Patel told the Hampstead and Highgate Express: "It was a very clinical and organised hit.

"They smashed through our front door and left a huge amount of damage.

"They destroyed cabinets and panels were ripped out. They stole about 200 pieces, some going for £1,300 a pair."

Thieves ransacked the shop and stole designer glasses worth tens of thousands
Hiten Patel

He estimated the combined cost of the damage and stolen glasses to be about £60,000.

The burglary was especially damaging as it happened in peak season for sales of sunglasses, he added.

Anyone with information should contact police via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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