Caught on digital camera: How ‘lone wolf’ burglar behind £10m jewelry heist slipped previous employees inside influencer Shafira Huang’s £38m mansion after climbing onto roof utilizing ladder from constructing website subsequent door
A ‘brazen’ weapon-toting thief who broke into the £38million home of a super-rich Instagram influencer almost came face-to-face with a housekeeper whilst making off with more than £10million of jewels.
MailOnline can exclusively reveal footage showing how the masked intruder stole across a landing at Shafira Huang’s mansion on Avenue Road in St John’s Hill 60 seconds before the maid walked along the same corridor.
Mrs Huang, an art collector and cultural ambassador at Bond Street’s Halcyon Gallery, was not at her sprawling 21-bed home when the raider struck.
The family and staff believe he clambered through an adjacent construction site like wall-crawling superhero Spider-Man to reach the roof with a ladder before entering through a second-floor window.
He made off with bespoke jewellery including jewel-encrusted bracelets, necklaces and diamond rings, as well as £150,000 of designer handbags and cash.
A source close to the multi-millionaire today released heart-stopping CCTV footage of the raider – described as white and in his late 20s or 30s – creeping through the house seconds before the housekeeper stepped out a lift.
A footprint taken from the roof was also issued as police stepped up the hunt for the raider, having issued photos of the stolen bling, much of which is unique.
Police said the crook was armed with an ‘unknown weapon’, which he appears to be wielding in an image earlier published by MailOnline.
Shafira Huang and her property developer husband Sishou were not at home when the raider struck on December 7
A composite image shows how the thief walked across a landing at 5.29pm (left side of image) before a housekeeper emerged from a lift one minute later (right side)
CCTV images provided to MailOnline show how the crook crept through the house while dressed head to toe in dark clothing, with a mask over his face
Csaba Virag, the chief of staff to the family who was in the property along with eight other members of staff at the time, told MailOnline today he believes the robber acted like ‘Spider-Man’ to get into the property.
The spokesperson believes the conman, who is still on the run, used an abandoned ladder from a neighbouring property currently under construction to climb onto the roof before descending down to the second floor.
He said: ‘It had to have been pre-planned, definitely. Watching the footage, we can see the person was going to use it [the weapon] if he ended up in a confrontation with someone.
‘He was a lone wolf but also a spiderman, as it was quite a mission for him to climb up to the roof and descend from there to the second floor before breaking into the entrance. There are footprints on the roof that I have seen.
‘A lot of the neighbourhood is under construction and some of the properties are for sale. There is a large construction site on the garden side of the home and thief highly likely came through that property.’
The theft of the jewellery has spooked many of Mrs Huang’s wealthy neighbours in the celebrity enclave of Primrose Hill in north London, where sprawling mansions are typically kept under 24/7 watch by guards and CCTV.
Mrs Huang and her property developer husband Sishou were not at the three-storey 18,000 sq ft house when the raid took place at around 5.30pm on December 7.
The couple have offered a £500,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the thief, and as much as 10 per cent of the value of the goods stolen for information that leads to their retrieval.
Neighbours on the street have said the robbery has left them concerned they could be targeted next.
One, who has lived on the street for over 30 years, said: ‘It has spooked people that the robber could get in so easily.
‘Every home on this road has lots of security with cameras. There have been break-ins before but what is most concerning is that the police have said he was armed.
‘That is terrifying and makes me think about my safety.’
The house is on Avenue Road in London’s plush Primrose Hill area – where homes fetch an average of £15.1million apiece
Shafira Huang is an art collector and cultural ambassador of the Halcyon Gallery on Bond Street (pictured in one of the necklaces that has been stolen)
The suspected thief who stole £10.4million of jewellery from Shafira Huang earlier this month
The glamorous victim has ramped up a following of more than 13,000 people on her public social media account by flaunting her fabulously wealthy lifestyle and jewellery
Many of the pieces were unique, one-off items (left), while the sapphire, gold and diamond necklace on the right was also among the valuable goods stolen
Hermes Crocodile Kelly handbags (one example pictured) worth £15,000 were also stolen in the burglary
Another neighbour said: ‘I remembered seeing about seven police cars and knew immediately there had been a break in.
‘No one knows if the robber knew the house was empty at the time or just took a chance.’
The detached home has a CCTV camera at the front gate and others on the outside of the front of the house.
The property next door is derelict and a security guard at a neighbouring house believes the thief had gained entry by jumping over the wall.
Land Registry details reveal the house was bought for £38m in 2019 and was the most expensive sold in the street, where the Israeli ambassador also lives in a property protected by armed police.
The raider was caught on CCTV, allowing police to issue a detailed description and warn that he appeared to be armed.
He is described as a white man in his late 20s to 30s, of medium build, wearing a dark hoodie, cargo pants and a grey baseball cap.
He covered his face during the break-in on a street, where homes sell for an average of £15.1million – some fetching in excess of £30m.
A number of unique pieces in the raider’s £10.4m haul, included a 10.73-carat Graff diamond ring and two De Beers butterfly diamond rings.
A 3.03-carat Hermes ring, and an aquamarine ring and ‘Niloticus Lumiere’ necklace by the same designers were taken.
Also stolen was a Van Cleef & Arpels clip featuring with gold, diamonds and sapphires, a ‘Fleur des Mers’ ring with diamonds, sapphires and aquamarines, a diamond, sapphire and platinum necklace/bracelet collection manufactured in 1978 and a gold, diamond and sapphire necklace.
The offender made off with a gold and emerald Chrome Hearts bracelet, gold and sapphire bracelet and Chopard diamond earrings.
Pink sapphire earrings from Katherine Wang, shaped like butterflies, were also part of the haul.
