Police hunt 'highly professional soldier' after multi-million pound string of raids on homes in southern England

Tom Powell30 January 2018
WEST END FINAL

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A “highly professional” soldier is believed to be behind a series of multi-million pound armed raids on wealthy homes across southern England.

Detectives said the thief’s meticulous research and use of extreme violence suggest he is currently or has previously served with the armed forces.

The burglar, who uses a sawn-off shotgun, is believed to stake out his targets for several weeks in order to intimately understand the comings and goings of the occupants and learn the locations of safes and valuables.

The "well-spoken intelligent thief" is also believed to have entered some of the properties prior to the raids in order to better understand their layouts.

In one raid, he was so confident that the alarm could not be raised that he spent more than an hour with the occupants until he had gathered all the items he wished to steal.

The thief has carried out seven raids in total
PA

He has been known to batter victims and tie them up with cable ties while carrying out the raids.

One victim, Susan Morris, 61, whose Surrey home was raided in October 2017, said: "One point when he was hitting me with the gun pointing at me, at that moment I did actually think, 'this is it, it's all over'."

Victim: Susan Morris thought 'this is it' while being attacked
PA

Detective Inspector Dee Fielding, from Surrey Police, said: "Each of these burglaries have been extremely distressing for the victims involved.

"We do not believe this to be the work of an opportunist burglar, but someone who has specialist knowledge and skills - possibly ex forces or from a similar background due to the way he has behaved and the circumstances of each incident.

"The burglaries all appear to be the work of someone who knows exactly what they are doing and who is incredibly decisive in their actions.

"On each occasion unnecessary levels of violence has been used in addition to a firearm, which he used to threaten the victims, who have then been tied up.

"He has worked quickly and appears to have knowledge of who is home at the time of each attack, the location of safes and the layout of the home.

"This leads us to believe he has planned the attacks in advance with a great level of detail and prior knowledge.

"More than £1 million worth of valuable items, including irreplaceable heirlooms, have been taken on each occasion."

Ms Fielding said that DNA evidence had been found at the scene of one of the raids but this had not been traced to any other offences.

She added that the raids have occurred about once every six months, possibly as the offender needed more money.

In a three-year period between November 2014 and October 2017, the thief, who has left little forensic evidence, has carried out seven raids - two in Kingswood, Surrey, and others in Maidenhead, Berkshire; Chichester, West Sussex, Sevenoaks, Kent; Maidstone, Kent, and Virginia Water, Surrey.

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