ANTIQUE and secondhand jewellery valued at £430,000 has been stolen during a break-in at an auction house in south Glasgow following what appears to have been a carefully planned and meticulously timed raid.
Police said more than 300 items were taken from the safe at
McTear's Auctioneers of 31 Meiklewood Road on the morning of
Tuesday, January 17.
A man was captured on CCTV entering the premises at about 6:55am
and leaving 20 minutes later. A member of staff arrived to start
work at 7.30am to find the auction house unlocked, the alarm
deactivated and the safe open.
Detective Sergeant Jane Lawson from Strathclyde Police is
leading the investigation: "We have been checking CCTV as well as
making extensive inquiries to trace those responsible for the theft
of this jewellery. So far we are able to say that the suspect
arrived wearing a black woollen hat, a high-visibility vest and
dark clothing and was carrying a black holdall. A few minutes later
a car with its headlights on arrived into the car park outside the
auctioneers."
There was no sign of a break-in, said the police.
Much of the jewellery was due to be offered for auction by
McTear's two days later. Other stolen items were scheduled for
sales in the coming months or were on the premises to be
valued.
Strathclyde Police have released a selection of photographs of
some of the stolen pieces and have good images of all of the
300-plus items.
DS Lawson added: "I would ask the public, especially those in
the jewellery industry, to take a look at them and contact
Strathclyde Police (on 0141 532 2000) if they have been offered any
items for sale."
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