Overview

• Edward Florez-Ortiz received six years in prison, while Edgar Ardila-Ruiz and Monica Diaz were each jailed for three years and six months.
• Investigators say the thieves followed a salesman from Brighton to Wrotham, punctured a tyre at a petrol station, distracted him at an air machine and lifted the jewellery from his boot.
• Ardila-Ruiz and Diaz were arrested on February 11 after a failed copycat attempt near Bolton, with CCTV helping identify the pair; Florez-Ortiz was convicted separately after pleading guilty to theft and criminal damage.
• Financial recovery actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act have been initiated to claw back criminal gains.
• Extradition proceedings are being pursued for Florez-Ortiz over a 2021 Belgian jewellery-theft sentence, as multi-force investigations tie the case to similar offences in London, Essex and Hertfordshire.