Scooter raiders strike at 32 designer stores

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Police believe the thieves are working to order and have been likened to a "Fagin's kitchen" of criminals.

At the beginning of the year, the gang were targeting opticians for expensive sunglasses in time for the summer holidays.

Now they have stealing handbags and designer clothes to meet demand for Christmas and the party season.

A squad of detectives set up by Scotland Yard in Westminster are examining more than 32 raids since March on shops and stores in the West End, Kensington, Chelsea and Islington.

The raids are usually carried out in the early hours and are over within minutes, if not seconds. The gang arrive on scooters with the licence plates usually obscured. The riders wear full-face crash helmets and use sledgehammers to smash the windows before grabbing the goods and taking off. Police believe they may be controlled by a criminal mastermind.

Three designer stores have been raided in the past week. On Wednesday night four men on two scooters struck at Sadie Frost's new FrostFrench boutique in Islington. One pair smashed the windows while the others escaped with goods worth about £10,000.

This week £50,000 of designer handbags were stolen from Larizia in St John's Wood High Street while the Marc Jacobs store in Mayfair was targeted last Friday.

Two weeks ago Luella Bartley's new store in Mayfair lost £10,000 in handbags.

There are few witnesses to the raids because of the timing. Senior detectives are keeping an open mind about the possibility of a mastermind but do believe the raids are staged to order.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "We have had some success in that people have been arrested and charged in the courts."