Third man charged over €46m jewellery heist

A THIRD man was accused yesterday of taking part in Britain’s biggest jewellery robbery.

Clinton Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth, was charged with conspiracy to rob, Scotland Yard said.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said Mogg will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court today.

Two other men appeared in court yesterday accused of stealing valuables worth almost £40 million (€46m) from Graff jewellers, in Mayfair, central London, and firearms offences.

Solomun Beyene, 24, and Craig Calderwood, 26, were remanded in custody after a brief hearing at the same court earlier yesterday.

The pair are accused of undertaking the robbery at the New Bond Street store on August 6. They are also charged with possessing handguns.

The two men appeared in the dock flanked by five prison officers amid heightened security.

Beyene, of Lilestone Street, St John’s Wood, north London, and Calderwood, of no fixed address, spoke only to confirm their names, addresses and dates of birth.

Beyene looked briefly at his parents who sat in the public gallery.

Presiding magistrate Anne Packer remanded the two men in custody and ordered them to appear at Kingston Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on September 1.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the two alleged robbers made no representation in court.

There was no application for bail.

Speaking after the hearing, defence solicitor Antonie Xavier, who represents Beyene, said his client denies any involvement in the robbery.

He said: “It is totally denied. The CCTV shows quite clearly he could not be the person. He has always denied that he was ever near there. This is a shot in the dark.”

A huge manhunt was launched after the raid on the central London jeweller.

CCTV pictures of two men talking their way past security guards before robbing the shop have been beamed around the world.

The gang forced a female member of staff to fill a bag with 43 pieces of jewellery, including earrings, necklaces and watches, worth almost £40 million.

They used getaway cars and a motorcycle to escape across the capital, firing two shots in the process.