Two men jailed for £40m gem raid

robbers found guilty over mayfair diamond heist

Two more men have been found guilty of taking part in the UK's biggest jewellery robbery in Mayfair last summer.

Solomun Beyene, 25, of Marylebone, and Clinton Mogg, 43, of Bournemouth, were found guilty of conspiracy to rob by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court.

A total of four men have been convicted for their roles in the heist at Graff Diamonds in which £40 million of gems were stolen at gunpoint.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Craig Calderwood, 27, and a decision on a possible retrial will be made at the court on Wednesday morning.

Calderwood, of no fixed address, had been accused of planning and executing the heist alongside Aman Kassaye, 25, who was earlier convicted of kidnap, conspiracy to rob and possessing a firearm.

Kassaye used a professional make-up artist to disguise his appearance and a series of getaway cars to escape after the robbery last summer, the court heard. The gems taken in the robbery have never been recovered.

Beyene's role in the heist was to buy so-called dirty telephones and hire a van to use as a blocking vehicle, while Mogg provided the London address used by the innocent make-up artist, who did not know about the planned raid. They were found guilty by a majority verdict on the 16th day of the jury's deliberations.

Calderwood, who had denied conspiracy to rob and possession of a handgun and sawn-off shotgun, was discharged. The fourth man who was found guilty of conspiracy to rob was Thomas Thomas, 46, of Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames. He had used blocking vehicles after the heist, the jury was told.

Two other men accused of conspiracy to rob were found not guilty last week. Courtney Lawrence, 31, of Ladbroke Grove, west London, and David Joseph, 23, of Flaxman Road, Loughborough Junction, south-east London, walked free after being cleared by the jury.

22.04.10 12:37