In what’s being hailed as Britain’s biggest jewel heist, two gunmen casually strolled into Graff Jewelers in Mayfair, an upscale London store, and stole gems and diamonds worth £40million on Thursday. The thieves managed to steal 43 bracelets, necklaces, rings and watches in less than two minutes.

The burglars were captured on CCTV before firing two shots and escaping. They then jumped into a blue BMW which was parked close and smashed into a taxi a minute later. The crooks got out and fired a second shot, forcing pedestrians to take flight and then got into a Mercedes Benz and sped away.

Yesterday, Scotland Yard made the first arrest in connection with the robbery. A 50-year-old man from east London was released on bail after questioning. The police also raided three properties, but would not discuss whether any items were recovered.

Detective Stuart Cundy, of Scotland yard’s Flying squad, said he did not rule out the possibility that the diamonds were stolen for a “Mr. Big,” even considering the possibility that the gunmen were assisted by an inside man: The starting place to investigations is to look from the inside out, and I am keeping an open mind about all possible lines of inquiry.”

As to the potential fate of the jewels? Detective Jason Prins believes: “The items that were stolen will be very difficult to sell on the open market so I think there was already a market in place.”  Police have alerted ports and airports in hopes of preventing a potential smuggle abroad, but they fear an escape may already have been achieved.

 Eye witnesses have said the duo had London accents and are, therefore, most likely not part of the Pink Panther gang, the group behind a £23 million robbery of the same store in 2003.

According to Detective Chief Inspector Pam Mace: "These men are extremely dangerous and fired at least two shots in busy London streets as they made their escape. Someone knows who these men are. They would undoubtedly have spoken about it beforehand or boasted about it afterwards.” He added: "I would urge anyone who recognizes them, knows the whereabouts of the jewelry or has any other information to contact us."

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