£1.4 million jewellery shop heist that drove manager to suicide ‘was staged’

A £1.4 cardinal heist astatine a luxury jewellery store was an wrong occupation arsenic portion of an security scam and ‘everyone was consenting’, 1 of the accused robbers has told jurors.

Junior Kunu, 30, and Mannix Pedro, 37, are charged with conspiring with others to transportation retired the raid that saw much than 70 luxury watches stolen from the 247 Kettles store successful Richmond, south-west London, connected May 25 past year.

Office manager Oliver White, 27, was truthful ‘devastated’ by the robbery helium killed himself the adjacent day, Woolwich Crown Court has heard.

But giving grounds today, Kunu repeatedly insisted: ‘This was not a robbery, this was staged.’

He claimed helium was told helium would beryllium paid £5,000 for putting watches into a bag. Putting Mr White successful a headlock and binding him with cablegram ties was each portion of ‘the relation play’, helium added.

‘I knew that I was going to instrumentality portion successful a staged robbery wherever everyone was consenting,’ Kunu said.

‘I knew that the idiosyncratic successful the store was going to comply. I knew that I was going to enactment watches successful the bag, and I had to bash thing else.’

Two different men said to person been progressive – Michael Ashman and Kyle Bowrage – are inactive astatine large, having fled overseas soon aft May 25.

Kunu claimed Bowrage had told him what was going to hap and that it each went according to plan.

‘He told maine that Oliver White was going to comply, helium complied,’ helium said. ‘He told maine that constabulary was not going to get called, they didn’t get called.

‘He told maine that helium (Mr White) wasn’t going to property the panic fastener oregon thing and helium didn’t.

‘At 1 constituent Bowrage was connected 1 broadside and Oliver White was by himself. If this was a real-life robbery helium would person pressed the panic button, helium would person screamed oregon kicked up a fuss.

‘Everything Kyle Bowrage told maine happened to the nonstop tee.’

He said ‘it would person been different’ if Mr White had not consented.

‘He would person pressed the panic button,’ Kunu told the court.

‘We walked retired of that place, we didn’t run. There wasn’t a car outside.

‘We walked to wherever the car was… if this was a robbery the car would person been outside, we would person tally out.

‘This was, to my belief, an security scam. But I didn’t cognize that.’

Jurors antecedently heard that Mr White was enactment successful a headlock and tied up portion the watches were stolen.

Kunu said the actions, including utilizing cablegram ties connected Mr White, was portion of ‘the relation play’ to ‘make the full happening look real’.

‘It was a staged robbery, truthful I believed that it was consented,’ Kunu said. ‘If I really believed that this was a robbery I would person ne'er been there.

‘If I really believed that helium (Mr White) was uncomfortable oregon helium looked similar helium was genuinely truly struggling, this would person been wholly different.’

The tribunal heard that Kunu had received a telephone from a ‘Mr X’ asking him to beryllium progressive successful the ‘staged robbery’.

The suspect refused to sanction the caller, citing concerns implicit his ain information and the information of his family.

Asked wherefore helium was chosen, Kunu told jurors: ‘Because anterior to that I person had conversations with X and I told him that I was financially struggling.

‘He knew that I needed wealth and I consciousness similar helium knew that I was just… I’m naive. He knew that I was naive.

‘He said I was going to partake successful staged robbery and each I had to bash was enactment watches successful a bag. I asked him a fig of questions and helium conscionable said everyone was consenting to the staged robbery, that thing atrocious was going to happen.’

He accepted helium was – ‘at most’ – a portion of a ‘conspiracy to steal’, but aboriginal agreed with the prosecution proposition that the incidental was ‘always going to impact unit oregon the menace of unit potentially’, answering: ‘I conjecture so.’

He denied making his explanations up.

Connor Thornton, the store’s co-owner, denied believing the incidental was an ‘inside job’ erstwhile helium gave grounds past week, portion Mr White’s mother, Amy Keane, described him arsenic a ‘really hardworking young man’ who was ‘devastated by the robbery’.

Woolwich Crown Court antecedently heard that Mr White tried to transportation £14,000 of his ain savings to his bosses aft the robbery.

The tribunal besides heard 247 Kettles had CCTV, panic buttons and magnetic locking doors for information measures arsenic good arsenic a fume system, and chiefly sold ‘high-end’ Rolex models ranging from £3,000 to £70,000.

The prosecution alleges the defendants played antithetic roles successful the plot, with Kunu having entered the premises to transportation retired the robbery, portion Pedro, who did not be the store connected May 25, was ‘closely progressive successful the readying and execution’.

Pedro, of Cobham, Surrey, and Kunu, of Mitcham, south-west London, contradict the charges.

None of the watches person been recovered, the tribunal has heard.

The proceedings continues.

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