Lucy Roberts was caught wearing the gems at Heathrow Airport(Image: Humberside Police / SWNS)A thief who brazenly stole over £100,000 worth of diamonds from a jewellers favoured by Kate Middleton was caught after she posted pictures of her wearing the gems on social media.
Lucy Roberts, of Mill Road, Swanland, East Yorkshire, took diamonds, silver and gold from the Daniella Draper store in Beverley she ran between October 1, 2017 and December 27, 2018. The 39-year-old was arrested at Heathrow Airport by Humberside Police as she returned from holiday wearing “a substantial amount of stolen jewellery”.
She was jailed for 28 months at Grimsby Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to theft by an employee at a previous hearing in April. The Princess of Wales, 43, has been seen wearing a £1,070 personalised Gold Midnight Moon Necklace by Daniella Draper.
Police said Roberts tried to dispose of the diamonds when she was caught at Heathrow Airport (stock)(Image: AP)The pendant was engraved with the first letters of her children’s names – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.
Roberts was questioned by staff at the luxury store what she was doing with the gems and she told them she was taking jewellery home but she had told them not to worry as she was working and sorting stock for the workshop, police said. After taking the valuable jewellery home, she quit her job and jetted off on holiday.
Det Sgt Krista Wilkinson said: “Without a care in the world, dripping in diamonds, thinking she had deceived everybody, Roberts arrogantly sent pictures boasting to her ex-colleagues about the great time she was having on holiday, not thinking they would realise what she had been doing.
“From the photos she sent colleagues you could clearly see the high value and unique pieces that she was wearing which she had not purchased whilst working for the store.”
Roberts worked at a Daniella Draper store(Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)A police investigation was launched after they were contacted by the retailer which had found Roberts had made a number of fraudulent return transactions and falsified stock takes.
A search of Roberts home found 269 items with a value of £107,965. She was arrested wearing a further £1,015 of stolen items and carrying a further £13,880 worth in her suitcase.
Body cam footage of her arrest showed the former luxury store manager taking off the jewellry in a bid to dispose of it, police said. She denied the theft allegations and claimed she had borrowed the diamonds from a friend.
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