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Two men appeared in court today accused of carrying out the £40 million Graff diamond raid.
The pair, both dressed in T-shirts, appeared amid heavy security at Wimbledon magistrates' court this morning.
Solomun Beyene, 24, of St John's Wood, and Craig Calderwood, 26, of no fixed abode, were flanked by five security guards as they stood in the reinforced glass dock.
They were charged with two counts of conspiring with others to rob Graff jewellers on 6 August and possession of a firearm.
It has emerged that one of the suspects was arrested at a former gay bar in Soho called Freedom.
Flying Squad detectives dressed in smart suits mingled with drinkers at the venue in Wardour Street before pouncing on the suspect and dragging him to the pavement outside the bar at about 9.30pm.
One witness described the arrest on Wednesday evening: “The cops were in designer clothes. You would never have known they were police.
“I suddenly saw the man being dragged away by two policemen. He was handcuffed. They put him into a Saab really quickly and then sped off. It was chaotic.”
The suspect is reported to have told police: “That was bloody quick.”
Their appearance came two weeks after a six-strong gang escaped with 43 items of jewellery and watches from the New Bond Street store. The haul was Britain's biggest ever jewellery robbery. Beyene's defence solicitor said police were accusing the pair of being the two men caught on CCTV who carried out the raid.
Dr Antonie Xavier said his client denied being in the shop or having anything to do with the gang. He said: “CCTV shows quite clearly that he could not be the person.
“He has always denied that he was ever near there. This is a shot in the dark.”
Both men were remanded in custody to appear at Kingston crown court on 1 September.
A third man was today charged in connection with the raid. Clinton Mogg, 42, of Bournemouth, was charged with conspiring to rob. He is due to appear at Wimbledon magistrates court tomorrow.
