Jewel thief gang jailed for £2.25 million petrol-station theft

Three members of a jewel-thief gang were jailed for a £2.25 million theft carried out at a Kent petrol station after tailing a gem salesman from Brighton for miles.

Edgar Ardila-Ruiz, 38; Monica Diaz, 45; and Edward Florez-Ortiz, 38 were linked to the bold operation in which rings valued at about £2.25 million were taken from the salesman’s car boot as he stopped for fuel on January 18 last year. The victim, working in Brighton at the time, had been taking jewellery to several businesses before returning toward Kent when the suspects followed him.

At a petrol station in Wrotham, Kent, Florez-Ortiz interfered with the car, causing a flat tyre. As the driver attempted to move the vehicle, Diaz approached to distract him, while Ardila-Ruiz opened the boot and removed a bag containing the rings. The gang fled the scene in a silver Toyota Corolla, with CCTV later showing the vehicle and the suspects driving away. The rings had a combined retail value of about £2.25 million.

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Ardila-Ruiz and Diaz were arrested on February 11 after an attempt to steal from another travelling salesman near Bolton, Lancashire. The victim called 999 after noticing a black BMW following him, and officers found Ardila-Ruiz on the wanted list for the Wrotham theft. Diaz was also identified from CCTV footage. The two were charged with conspiracy to steal and theft from a motor vehicle and subsequently pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court. Florez-Ortiz, who was living in Islington, London, was separately convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to theft and criminal damage.

Kent Police, along with other forces, said all three were part of a larger gang responsible for similar offences across the country, including in London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire. The investigation formed part of a broader probe into multiple offences, with seven offenders ultimately sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court over three days on September 18, 19 and 22.

Florez-Ortiz received a six-year prison term. Ardila-Ruiz and Diaz were each jailed for three years and six months. Florez-Ortiz also faces extradition proceedings related to offences in Belgium in February 2021, where he had been sentenced in his absence to more than three years for another jewellery theft. None of the rings from the Kent theft have been recovered. Police said the sentences reflect the scale and planning of the operation.

Detective Constable Leo Graham of Kent Police, who led the investigation, said the case showed how the suspects initially shadowed the victim on foot before following his car. He noted that a metal item had been inserted into the tyre during the attack and that the group’s activity extended beyond Kent, with another arrest and conviction tied to similar offences elsewhere. "Our investigation uncovered a wealth of evidence showing how all three offenders followed the victim for miles before striking at the petrol station," Graham said. "These sentences are welcome, as it is clear they were part of a bigger network of organised criminality targeting victims throughout the country."

Investigators said the offenders will now be pursued under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover any criminal gains from the thefts.