Three jewel thieves jailed for stealing £2 million from salesman in Kent

A gang of jewel thieves followed a jewellery salesman from Brighton, Sussex, to Kent and stole diamond rings worth approximately £2.25 million from his car boot at a petrol station in Wrotham. The thieves punctured one of the victim's tyres to force him to stop and distract him while one member stole the jewellery. Edgar Ardila-Ruiz, Monica Diaz, and Edward Florez-Ortiz were identified as the perpetrators, who were also linked to other thefts across the UK, including an attempted robbery near Bolton. Ruiz and Diaz were arrested after the Bolton incident and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and theft from a motor vehicle at Maidstone Crown Court. Florez-Ortiz was separately convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to theft and criminal damage. All three were subsequently jailed for their roles in the orchestrated crime.