Bodycam footage captures Lucy Roberts frantically trying to rip off pilfered gems as cops swoop – after she taunted ex-colleagues with smug holiday selfies
Talk about being caught with your hand in the cookie jar – or in this case, dripping in stolen diamonds worth a small fortune.
A trusted jewellery shop manager who plundered £125,000 worth of precious gems from her own store was spectacularly nabbed at Heathrow Airport, literally sparkling with the evidence of her crimes as she strutted through arrivals.
Lucy Roberts, 39, had just returned from living it up on a luxury cruise when eagle-eyed police swooped – finding her not only wearing stolen jewellery but with her suitcase stuffed full of pilfered pieces.
In scenes worthy of a Hollywood heist movie gone wrong, bodycam footage captured the shameless thief desperately trying to yank off rings and necklaces as officers moved in to arrest her.
The ultimate betrayal
Roberts had been entrusted to manage an upmarket jewellery boutique in the well-heeled market town of Beverley, East Yorkshire. But instead of looking after the glittering stock, she systematically looted it for an entire year.
The light-fingered boss helped herself to gold chains, diamond rings and designer pieces worth a king’s ransom – squirreling them away under her bed and in cupboards at her home in posh Swanland.
Her modus operandi? Fake stock takes and bogus return transactions that covered her tracks while she filled her pockets with the shop’s finest pieces.
Holiday from hell
But Roberts’ greed proved her undoing when she handed in her notice and promptly jetted off on a swanky cruise holiday – unable to resist showing off her ill-gotten gains.
The cocky crook bombarded former colleagues with selfies from her lavish getaway, posing in the very jewellery she’d nicked from under their noses. Talk about adding insult to injury.
“Without a care in the world, dripping in diamonds, thinking she had deceived everybody,” Detective Sergeant Krista Wilkinson later said of Roberts’ breathtaking arrogance.
The game’s up
Back in Beverley, suspicious staff members were putting two and two together. Those unique, high-value pieces Roberts was flaunting on social media? They recognised them from the shop floor.
A quick call to police set the wheels in motion for Roberts’ spectacular comeuppance.
When detectives raided her bedroom, they uncovered an Aladdin’s cave of stolen treasure – 269 items worth £107,965 hidden under her bed and stashed in wardrobes.
But the real drama came when Roberts touched down at Heathrow, blissfully unaware that the game was up.
Caught red-handed
As she sauntered through the airport, Roberts was wearing approximately £1,015 worth of stolen jewellery – presumably her favourite pieces from her criminal collection.
Police bodycam footage shows the moment her holiday high came crashing down, with Roberts frantically trying to remove the incriminating evidence as officers closed in.
Her suitcase revealed another 22 items worth £13,880 – bringing her total haul to an eye-watering £124,675.
Tall tales and prison bars
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Roberts tried one last desperate gambit during police interviews. Her excuse? An ex-colleague must have planted the jewellery in her suitcase.
Nice try, love, but nobody was buying it.
At Grimsby Crown Court, Roberts finally admitted theft by an employee and was handed 28 months behind bars – plenty of time to reflect on how her glittering crime spree led to a considerably less glamorous accommodation.
DS Wilkinson didn’t mince words about the betrayal: “I am pleased she is now behind bars and I hope it will give her ample time to think about the crime she committed and how it has impacted not only the company, but the colleagues who considered her a friend.
Justice served
The unnamed jewellery company expressed relief at finally getting closure after “several years” of investigation.
A spokesperson praised Humberside Police and loyal employees who “worked tirelessly and diligently” to ensure justice was done.
As for Roberts? She’s swapped diamonds and gold for prison grey – proof that all that glitters isn’t gold when it belongs to someone else.
Her colleagues’ final verdict? Sometimes karma really is a gem.
