A JEWELLERY salesman claims to have had more than £500,000 of gems stolen in an audacious daylight robbery.
The man told detectives he had just completed a business call at a jewellers in Perth when he stopped off in the town’s Oxfam charity shop around 3pm on Tuesday.
As he browsed the book shelves he said he put his bag containing the jewels on the floor, but when he looked down seconds later his bag had disappeared.
Police are now hunting a woman aged between 20 and 25 who had been spotted acting suspiciously near to the man.
The salesman visited Timothy Hardie jewellers in Perth city centre yesterday when he was robbed of £600,000 worth of gems he was carrying in a blue sports bag.
Three suspects hunted
The woman is thought to have been in the jeweller’s shop at the same time as the salesman.
She was then spotted in the company of two men before the three were seen speeding away from the area in a dark coloured saloon.
The woman police are looking for is described as being between 20 and 25 years old, around 5ft 2 in height, slim build, and of European appearance.
She had long dark brown wavy hair tied back in a pony tail and was wearing jeans, black trainers with white toes, a black jacket, a light coloured top, and carrying a light coloured shopping bag with a pattern on it.
One of the men is described as being around 6ft in height, with thick dark hair, and of Asian appearance. He was seen standing beside a four-door dark coloured saloon car, possibly a blue or black coloured old style BMW, in the city’s South Street.
The second man is described as being around 5ft 9 in height, of dark European appearance, with thinning grey hair. He was seen running across South Street carrying a blue bag, closely followed by the woman.
Detective Inspector Mike Pirie said: “We are very keen to hear from anyone who was in the area yesterday afternoon who may have seen any of these individuals either before or after the theft took place.
“Detectives are in the process of examining both public and private CCTV footage from the area in a bid to identify those responsible.”