Four convicted in 'robbery plot' to target man with £4m of gems

A gang has been convicted of conspiring to rob an international jewellery salesman of a suitcase filled with £4 million worth of precious gems.

Joseph Savoie, who worked for exclusive US designer Le Vian, was ambushed in a car park as he walked to Ernest Jones in Staines, west London, to display high-value stones including the company's signature brown "chocolate diamonds".

He was beaten to the ground and battered almost unconscious after taking the jewel-filled case from his car boot on the morning of May 13 last year.

His attackers had stalked him in a Mercedes fitted with fake number plates before pouncing, even ripping his watch and gold necklace from him along with the case, before smashing the car park barrier as they sped off.

Lee Gardner, Camilo Carvajal, Ciro Troyano and Oscar Hicks were all convicted of conspiracy to rob in the "professionally planned" operation on Friday at Kingston Crown Court.

The trial heard how the gang had tracked Mr Savoie's movements after the schedule announcing his arrival at the store was posted on the Ernest Jones website to attract customers.

In the days beforehand, the group, all from London, had staked out Ernest Jones stores in Solihull, West Midlands, and Maidenhead, Berkshire, as Mr Savoie displayed his wares there.

But their conspiracy was undone after detectives traced their movements through mobile phone records, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and CCTV images, the court heard.

Police found some stolen items at the homes of the defendants along with thousands of pounds in cash, and messages showing they had been trying to sell the high-value pieces.

Detectives also recovered some of the jewellery from pawn shops, including two distinctive Le Vian rings, near the defendants' addresses.

Gardner, 48, of Wood Green, north London, Carvajal, 40, of Lewisham, south east London, Troyano, 41, of Southwark, south London and Hicks, 38, of St Leonards-on-Sea were found guilty of conspiracy to rob by majority verdicts after jurors deliberated for more than 19 hours.

Some of the defendants shook their heads or held their heads in their hands as the guilty verdicts were delivered.

Judge Georgina Kent indicated that the four men will be sentenced on a day to be fixed next week.