A gang who carried out Britain's biggest ever gem heist - a £40 million armed raid on a luxury jewellers in central London - were jailed today.
The men used a professional make-up artist to hide their identities and opened fire during their getaway after the "high stakes" raid at Graff Diamonds in London's upmarket Mayfair area.
Petra Ehnar, a shop assistant at the store, was forced with a gun in her back to empty the store's display cabinets. She filled a bag with 43 pieces of jewellery including earrings, necklaces and watches worth a total of £40 million, with one diamond necklace alone valued at £3.5 million. The stolen gems have never been recovered.
Ms Ehnar, who was forced into the street by the robbers as they made their escape, was told she would be killed if she did not carry out their demands.
Aman Kassaye, who planned and executed the heist, was jailed for 23 years at London's Woolwich Crown Court today. He used a professional make-up artist to disguise his appearance and a series of getaway cars to escape across the capital, shooting at anybody who got in his way.
Three other men Solomun Beyene (25), Clinton Mogg (43) and Thomas Thomas (46) were jailed for 16 years after being convicted of conspiracy to rob, a court official said.
The court was shown footage of Kassaye firing a shot in the street outside the store as they made their getaway, sending passers-by running for cover.
Kassaye's defence rested on his assertion that the raid was carried out "by someone remarkably like him", but he was identified by Ms Ehnar who the prosecution said would have had "his facial features etched in her mind" by the events.
"This was the first time I have ever been subjected to an armed robbery and I was petrified," she told police. "I was thinking, 'I am going to be shot, killed', I had no idea. It is the most terrifying experience a person can be put through as you have no control over the situation that you find yourself in."
Beyene's role was to buy so-called "dirty" mobile telephones used in the heist and hire a van to block traffic, while Mogg provided the address used by the make-up artist and Thomas used the blocking vehicle, the jury was told.
In 2003, an international gang of robbers carried out a £23 million armed raid at Graff's. Two members of an Eastern European crime syndicate were later jailed for 20 years for their role in the raid.
Reuters