Dorchester Hotel ransacked in smash and grab raid exactly one month after similar incident

 
CCTV: an image of the suspects who raided the hotel last month
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Robbers smashed their way through the locked front door of the luxury Dorchester Hotel early today in the second raid in just four weeks.

A gang of six men on three motorycles pulled up outside the world famous five star hotel in the early hours.

The gang used the bikes to smash their way through the doors of the hotel before using sledgehamers to break down the doors and crack open display cases.

The venue was hit in almost exactly the same way on June 10, when watches and jewellery were stolen in what police called a "well-planned" heist.

In today's robbery the thieves all fled the scene within minutes and no one has yet been arrested.

Officers are still trying to establish what was stolen but the gang are believed to have grabbed handfuls of luxury watches and jewellery worth tens of thousands of pounds.

One eyewitness said the gang were riding what he described as three yellow high performance motorcycles.

He told the Standard: "They were on yellow R1 motorcycles they are really fast and there's no way police were going to catch them on those.

"They were dressed in dark clothes and wore balaclavas. They smashed through the doors on the bikes and then came out with jewellery. They were in and out fast. It looked like a very professional job."

Another witness said: "They pulled up on their bikes and stormed in I didn't hear them shout or say anything or see any weapons. They looked like they knew exactly what they were doing."

Workmen were today repairing the doors that the gang smashed through.

A police spokesman said that officers were trying to establish if the hotel had CCTV footage of the raid and that no arrests had been made.

Detectives believe the raid was linked to a similar robbery when up to £250,000 worth of gems were stolen from the Dorchester exactly a month ago.

No arrests have been made in relation to this robbery.

In the first raid robbers used the same modus operandi, with three men on bikes smashing their way into display cabinets in a boutique in the hotel lobby.

It was also roughly the same time of night when most of the guests were in bed and few staff were on duty.

In the earlier raid the group was disturbed, but escaped with some items and were pursued by police. Officers followed but lost the gang and came across a woman who had been hit and injured by a moped at Cambridge Circus.

The hotel refused to say if had increased security measures following the first raid.

Police said Flying Squad officers were investigating both raids.

Detective Sergeant Mark Staples said: "We continue work towards establishing those responsible for carrying out not only the robbery which took place in the early hours of this morning but the robbery which took place last month.

"We have yet to make arrests in relation to either incident and we urgently require the support of the public with providing us with any information no matter how small. There may be people who know who is responsible and I am keen for those with any information to come forward and assist us with our investigation."

The Dorchester issued a statement saying: “We can confirm there was an incident at the hotel early this morning and we are assisting the authorities with their inquiries. The hotel security team were quick to respond and no-one was hurt. The comfort and security of our guests and staff is our top priority.”

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