Police swoop on £40m Mayfair gem gang

The 50-year-old was held in Ilford as police raided three properties in London and the South-East.

Detectives are also investigating several possible identities for the two men who walked into Graff Diamonds last Thursday and held staff at gunpoint after bluffing their way through the "airlock" security door.

They stole 43 items in a raid that took less than two minutes and fired warning shots as they fled. Several members of the public have called police with names for the smartly-dressed pair after a CCTV appeal.

The 50-year-old man has been released on bail and is not one of the two smartly dressed men captured on CCTV at the New Bond Street store.

However, police have not ruled out a possible link to the notorious Pink Panther gang, a group of Balkan gem thieves who were behind a £23 million raid on the same store in 2003.

Further pictures emerged today showing the moment last Thursday the armed gang escaped by dragging a hostage into a Mayfair street.

The scene was caught on a mobile phone by a passer-by and shows the two gunmen calmly walking away from the store to a BMW.

The men are holding a Graff's staff member and appear to be challenged by security staff. The men turn and fire a warning shot to keep them back.

The two robbers were allowed past security guards before pulling out handguns. They grabbed rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches during the two-minute raid.

It is also believed that the two robbers had made an appointment to visit the store which was how they were allowed through the "airlock" door.

Detectives said today they believed they were stealing to order and targeted the most expensive items.

Today it emerged there were at least three getaway vehicles nearby with at least three drivers, partly as an insurance if anything went wrong but also to confuse any pursuing police.

The gunmen got into a blue BMW a few yards from the store. The car was driven into Old Bond Street, and on to Stafford Street before smashing into a taxi in Dover Street.

A second shot was fired into the ground as the gang switched to a silver Mercedes, which continued towards Berkeley Square. They drove into Farm Street, where police suspect the men got into a black vehicle, possibly a Ford Galaxy or VW Sharan. Detectives also believe that the jewels were transferred to a motorcyclist near the store. The bike was found in Berkeley Square.