Thief asks to see most expensive diamonds and then steals them

TWO unarmed robbers got away with the three most expensive diamond rings in a shop in Limassol yesterday morning. The rings were worth around €20,000.

The two men entered the Tonia Jewellery shop at 9.15am on Ayios Andreas Street in Limassol. One of them pretended to be a customer while the second stood at the entrance of the shop.

Speaking in Russian to the employee, who was of Armenian origin, he said he was interested in buying diamond rings. The thirty-year-old woman showed him a collection of diamond rings but he reportedly said he was not very impressed and asked to see the most expensive ones available.

She then presented him the three most expensive diamond rings. After examining the rings the ‘client’ put them in his pocket and made his way to the exit. Taken by surprise, the woman grabbed him by the arm to stop him, but he violently grabbed her by the neck, pushed her and pinned her to the ground. He then made a dash for the exit, and along with his accomplice jumped into a car and fled the scene.

The getaway car was found abandoned shortly afterwards in a road behind the crime scene. An eye witness testified that he saw the two perpetrators get into a red car after abandoning the getaway car. The police took the abandoned car for examination. According to the preliminary investigation, forensics recovered a number of fingerprints. The CCTV tape from the shop was also taken by the police. The thieves appeared to be of central Asian origin.

Police said that based on the data available, “the robbers will soon be identified and arrested”.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.