ROBBERS stole €7million worth of watches and jewellery from a wealthy Saudi widow’s west London flat – a day before the raid on Tamara Ecclestone.
The burglars forced their way into a fourth-floor flat in Knightsbridge last Thursday, which is less than a mile from F1 heiress’s Kensington mansion.
They escaped with an incredible multi-million pound loot including a £1.3million limited edition diamond encrusted watch by Mouawad and a £2million necklace and earring set.
Dozens of watches and gems worth an estimated £6million were nabbed in the raid on the £5million flat in Lowndes Square between 9.20pm and 10.15pm on Thursday.
Just 24 hours later burglars nabbed £50million from Tamara’s £70million pad during 50-minute raid. The Met said it is not believed at this stage the two raids are connected.
A Saudi widow, who does not want to be named, said burglars broke into her flat then smashed through her bedroom door and helped themselves to her prize watches and jewellery.
She said: “I am absolutely devastated. They are irreplaceable. The police don’t seem to care. I am too scared to go back to the flat. London is just lawless right now. Where are the police?
“When I read in The Sun that Tamara Ecclestone had been robbed I thought it could be the same people.”
They stole Cartier earrings, a £100,000 Cartier necklace, a Chanel necklace, a Bulgari watch and £255,000 worth of Van Cleef jewellery. Also stolen was a £448,000 Chopard watch and a £611,000 watch also by Chopard.
The Saudi widow, who has asked not to be named and lives with her 21-year-old son, says she returned from the Middle East earlier this month.
MULTI-MILLION POUND THEFT
She had millions of pounds of jewels which were gifts from her dead hubby who made millions in the oil industry. She had prepared around £6million of watches and jewellery to take to a safety deposit box.
But claims last Wednesday an Eastern European woman picked up a key to her apartment from the building’s porter. CCTV at the building’s entrance captures her arriving and signing the porter’s register.
But after apparently letting herself into the widow’s flat she was disturbed by her son and told him she was nanny but had mistakenly gone to the wrong flat, it is claimed.
The woman reappeared later on Wednesday evening and rang the doorbell before claiming she had again mistakenly to the wrong flat again, they said.
The widow and her son say the following day they arranged for locksmiths to change the locks and new door key was left with the porters at the entrance.
But when they returned home at 10.20pm they discovered her locked bedroom door had been forced open. Robbers had helped themselves to astonishing loot of gems and watches.
The pair called the cops who finally turned up at 4.30am. She said: “The police aren’t interested. I have documents, receipts and photos but I fear I will never get them back.
“If the thieves are different to Tamara Ecclestone’s then that means two gangs are out there.” The Met Police said the raid was not being connected “at this stage”.
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A spokesman said:”A quantity of high value jewellery and watches was stolen. There have been no arrests at this stage and enquiries continue.”
Around £50m of jewels were stolen from Tamara’s high-security mansion less than a mile away on Friday night – around 24 hours later.
Tamara, 35, had posted hours earlier online she was heading on holiday to Lapland. The robbery is believed to be an “inside job”.
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