From the
BTP▸ press release:
British Transport Police has issued CCTV▸ stills of a number of individuals in connection with an ongoing enquiry into the theft of a ^10,000 antique diamond ring.
The offence took place at Paddington station when a 53-year-old woman was waiting for a taxi alongside her husband at the taxi rank on December 11 at around 6.15pm.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Martin Coburn said that a group of up to four men targeted the woman, who was feeling unwell after being taken ill at the station, in order to steal a 1920s platinum solitaire diamond ring.
Det Con Coburn said that officers believed that the woman was spotted shortly after she and her partner missed their train to Newbury.
^One man is seen to use a mobile phone in the station concourse area while the victim and her partner made their way to the station exit in order to catch a cab,^ said Det Con Coburn. ^A few moments later a further three men appear from the slip road near to the taxi rank and stand very close to the victim, who was being looked after by her partner as she was feeling unwell. The men offered to help the couple in getting a cab, however, while the victim^s husband was telling a taxi driver where they needed to go, she became aware that her ring had been taken off her finger.^
All but one of the men then left the scene. The remaining man was challenged by the victim^s husband and then ran out of the taxi area and away from the station.
The ring is described as a diamond solitaire with one large cushion-cut vintage diamond of approximately three carats in weight.
The stone is thought to have been cut in the late 19th century and set on a vintage platinum shank dating from the 1920s with graduated emerald cut diamonds on each shoulder.
^This was an apparently well-organised crime by a group of men who targeted a vulnerable woman,^ added Det Con Coburn. ^Anyone who recognises those pictured in the images, or who has received a high-quality diamond ring in suspicious circumstances, should contact us with information.^
