Thieves Steal Cartier Watches

By William George Shuster, Senior Editor -- JCK Online, 9/1/2001 2:00:00 AM

British police are after the thieves who stole about $5.6 million (£4 million) in Cartier merchandise, almost all watches. It is one of the biggest such thefts in British history, say British newspapers.

The theft occurred in May but was made public by police at the end of June. Cartier, the international luxury jeweler and watchmaker headquartered in Paris, offered a reward of $106,000 (£75,000) for information leading to arrest of the thieves. The International Criminal Police Organization-Interpol is working with local and metropolitan police, said published reports.

The theft occurred at an airport warehouse in Rochford, Essex, England, on May 21 at about 5 p.m. A teenage employee alone at the time was attacked, beaten, and tied up. According to newspaper reports, he told police that he saw two men use a forklift to load eight pallets of Cartier merchandise recently arrived from Europe into a white truck. He described them as dark-haired Caucasians in their thirties.

According to The Guardian and the Times, the thieves took 1,726 items, mostly watches worth between $4,250 (£3,000) and $17,000 (£12,000), as well as some Cartier jewelry and belts. Each is marked with a Cartier serial number.