Woman sentenced after £3.5m Portland tiara stolen from Welbeck estate in Worksop

Credit: Nottinghamshire Police

A woman has been sentenced for conspiring to steal a £3.5million tiara, which was stolen from the Welbeck estate in Nottinghamshire.

Kelly Duong, 35, was part of a gang who stole the Portland Tiara and brooch from an armoured glass display case at the Harley Gallery at Welbeck Estate near Worksop in 2018.

Prosecutors claim that 12 months earlier, Ms Duong carried out a reconnaissance mission on the gallery with her partner Ashley Cumberpatch.

The jewels worth an estimated £3.75 million pounds have never been recovered.

Duong has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

The Portland tiara, estimated to be worth £3.5million, was worn by the Duchess of Portland at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902. Credit: Handout

Kelly Duong and her partner Ashley Cumberpatch went to the Harley Gallery on The Welbeck Estate in 2017.

In reality this was a reconnaissance mission. The real target - a diamond-encrusted tiara and brooch, with a combined value of £3.75 million pounds.  

A year later, a gang of masked raiders smashed their way into the gallery.

Armed with power tools, they cut through the glass display cabinet and stole the tiara and brooch. They were gone less than eight minutes later.

Thieves were captured on CCTV stealing the Portland tiara from an armoured glass cabinet. Credit: Nottinghamshire Police

The jewels were brought to Paris Jewels at Hatton Garden in London, just hours later.

They were passed to professional handlers Tevfik Guccuk and Sercan Evsin who were tasked with selling them.

Detectives later raided the shop but were unable to recover the tiara and brooch.

It's thought they were broken up into individual diamonds before being flown out to Turkey within 24 hours.

Kelly Duong outside Nottingham Crown Court in 2022. Credit: PA Images

In 2023, Cumberpatch along with Kurtis Dilks and Andrew McDonald, were found guilty of conspiracy to burgle the Harley Gallery.

Tevfik Guccuk & Sercan Evsin were also convicted of converting criminal property.

Dilks was also part of a four-strong gang found guilty of robbing the homes of ex-footballers Ashley Cole and former Derby County midfielder Tom Huddlestone.

All five men were sentenced to a combined total of more than 90 years.

The tiara and brooch were worn by the Duchess of Portland at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.

It's unlikely ever to be seen in its original form again.

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