A ruthless gang has been locked up after making off with Overover £2 million in jewellery from a salesman driving between Sussex and kent-england/”>Kent.
The Tyre Slash Trick at Wrotham Petrol Station
On 18 January 2024, a jewellery salesman finished a massive £2.25 million deal in england/brighton/”>Brighton. Unbeknownst to him, the gang – Edgar Ardila-Ruiz, Monica Diaz, and Edward Florez-Ortiz (aka Victor Chavez-Gutierrez) – were on his tail.
At a petrol station on London Road, Wrotham, Florez-Ortiz slashed one of the salesman’s tyres. When the victim stopped to change it, Diaz distracted him. Meanwhile, Ardila-Ruiz sneaked into the car Bootboot and grabbed a bag packed with priceless gems.
Police Nab Crooks After Follow-Up Robbery Bid
CCTV caught the trio bolting in a silver Toyota Corolla. Ruiz and Diaz were arrested near Bolton on 11 February after attempting the same stunt on another travelling salesman. A 999 call from that victim led officers straight to them, cracking the Wrotham case wide open.
All three pleaded guilty. At Maidstone Crown Court, Ardila-Ruiz and Diaz – both homeless – got three-and-a-half years each. Florez-Ortiz, from Islington, London, was slapped with six years at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court. He now faces extradition over a previous Belgian jewellery theft.
Part of a Bigger Jewellery Theft Ring Across England
This trio was linked to a larger gang behind robberies in London hotspots including portobello/”>Portobello Road, Hatton Garden, Kings Cross, plus Essex and Hertfordshire. Seven members of the gang were jailed last September after a police crackdown spanning multiple forces.
Detective Constable Leo Graham said: “They tracked the victim on foot before tailing his car and patiently waited for the perfect moment to strike. We found a metal object Florez-Ortiz had inserted into the tyre to force the stop. It’s lucky Ardila-Ruiz and Diaz were caught shortly after targeting another salesman miles away. These sentences send a strong message to organised criminals operating across the country.”
Now, the criminals face a financial probe under the Proceeds of Crime Act to ensure they don’t keep a penny of their stolen loot.
