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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Milly Vincent

Tamara Ecclestone tells of 'haunting' burglary when £26m of jewellery was stolen in exclusive BBC documentary

Tamara Eccleston will reveal the bizarre and "haunting" story behind the £26million burglary at her home, speaking exclusively in a new BBC documentary. The show, Who Stole Tamara Ecclestone's Diamonds?, will air at 9pm on BBC Three and is available to watch on iPlayer now.

In the documentary, British model Tamara speaks openly about the traumatic incident, which made headlines as the biggest domestic burglary in UK history. The burglary took place at Tamara and husband Jay Rutland’s home in Kensington, London, in December 2019.

Speaking of the criminals, Tamara said: “They are disgusting. I just find it sickening that people are such low lives. Having seen their faces it’s kind of haunting in a way, they look f****** beyond."

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Tamara still deals with the after effects of the burglary. She added: “I feel like I can’t get those faces out of my mind."

The couple were in Lapland for Christmas at the time of the break-in, with three intruders carrying out a raid on the home despite 24-hour onsite security. Unfortunately, none of the jewellery and watches that were stolen were covered by insurance, Jay tells the documentary.

But the investigation into the burglary takes a bizarre turn when a woman is pictured wearing one of Tamara’s stolen necklaces on Facebook, and later caught wearing her earrings by police. In the documentary, the former escort - Maria Mester - claims the jewellery was given to her as a gift by a client.

Tamara tells the camera: “That b**** was wearing my jewellery.” Later Mester’s son Emil-Bogdan Savastru, then 30, was suspected of assisting in the burglary and caught carrying Jay's bag as he attempted to board a flight to Japan from Heathrow, the BBC documentary reports.

Mester and Savastru claimed to have no knowledge of the robberies and a jury later found them both not guilty of being involved. Mester left court in London, smoked a cigarette and gave paparazzi a “peace” sign, before stepping into the Rolls Royce that awaited her, Birmingham Live reports.

The painstaking Metropolitan Police investigation uncovered a criminal gang who were linked to the "biggest series of domestic burglaries in the UK", specifically targeting celebrities. These celebrities include Frank and Christine Lampard, and Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the former owner of Leicester City - whose house was targeted after his death in a helicopter crash.

Watch Who Stole Tamara Ecclestone's Diamonds? Thursday July 21 at 9pm on BBC Three. It is also available to watch on iPlayer.

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