10:18
Qleap
Celebrities and millionaires living on one of Britain’s most exclusive estates have become the targets of a crime wave. A diplomat’s wife and son became the latest victims after they were tied up and held at gunpoint during a £100,000 robbery. St George’s Hill in Surrey has been dubbed the British ‘Beverly Hills’ and is home to Russian oil tycoons, hedge fund managers and City financiers. Exclusive: The St George's Hill estate in Surrey has been hit by a crime wave in recent months. It lists oil tycoons and hedge fund managers among its residents Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba are also residents. The estate is hidden behind security gates and guarded around the clock by security guards and CCTV cameras. But that has failed to protect the residents from falling foul of a string of crimes since April. Police have warned them to be on their guard after the latest incident last month was a gunpoint £100,000 robbery in which a diplomat’s wife and son were tied up. One resident said homeowners, who paid up to £10million for the privilege, are ‘living in fear’ of becoming the next victim. The neighbourhood, a favourite with Russian oil tycoons, hedge fund traders and City financiers, has been dubbed the British ‘Beverley Hills’. Among the high-profile names to own a home there are Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Chelsea footballer Didier Drogba. Other include Scottish TV actress Hannah Gordon, former Chelsea player Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch. While former residents on the 420-home estate include Ringo Starr, Kate Winslet, Cliff Richard, Jenson Button and Sir Elton John. Surrey Police admitted the tranquil Weybridge neighbourhood, known as ‘The Hill’ to locals, has been hit by a string of crimes since April. Celebrity residents: Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba are among the people who live in St George's Hill, Surrey They included two violent robberies, a burglary, two thefts, the theft of a car, vandalism and a violent attack. Detectives are still hunting the masked gunman behind the terrifying robbery where the victims were tied up and threatened with a sawn-off shotgun. The woman, aged in her 30s, and her teenage son escaped unhurt as he made off with cash and jewellery worth £100,000. Police suspect their attacker may have had an accomplice in a car outside but the pair managed to dodge security on the estate. One local, who did not want to be named, said all householders had been warned about the recent crimes and been told to ‘be vigilant’. He said: ‘There has been a lot of talk about the crime rate in the past six months. ‘Although it might not seem particularly high compared to most of the country, the simple fact is that people pay a lot of money to live here and do not expect to be living in fear. ‘There are private security guards, CCTV cameras, barriers and all sorts, so this kind of thing is very out of the ordinary for people who live here. ‘We have been told to be vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour to the police and to the security team here.’ Elmbridge councillor Peter Harman said: ‘They’ve got their own security on the estate and they have cameras that monitor traffic going in and out, and all the cars are recorded, so it should be easy to trace people.’ The residents’ association boasts it is a ‘unique location’ for successful high achievers looking for a ‘secure and private location.’ Each house is required to have ‘at least’ one acre of land and boundaries cannot be marked by fences or walls, only hedges and bushes. The 964-acre estate boasts its own golf club and 15 tennis courts, four squash courts, state-of-the-art gym, 20m swimming pool and sauna, bar and restaurants and its own beauty spa. According to estate agents Savills, the the area is ‘internationally renowned as one of the most sought-after private estates in England.’ But it is not the first time the estate has had problems with unwanted intruders and people ignoring the law. In May, peace at the gated community was punctured when squatters moved into an empty property 200 yards from the members-only tennis club that forms its social hub. Residents were sent a letter saying those responsible were ‘known to police’ and they should be on their guard. But the unwelcome neighbours managed to stay for several weeks at the £3million empty property which was at the centre of a long-running legal dispute. A Surrey Police spokesman confirmed the crimes took and said officers continue to appeal for witnesses over the armed robbery. A spokesman for St George’s Hill Residents’ Association declined to comment.
Police towed away this Hells Angels motorcycle from a clubhouse Wednesday after a raid also found drugs, weapons and Hells Angels paraphernalia. Ottawa police
Two brazen, targeted shootings of known British Columbia gangsters in less than a month may be the kindling that sparks renewed gang warfare in the Lower Mainland, say police. The officer who heads the province's gangs task force issued an "unusual" alert Tuesday to anyone with links to two notorious crime families after a known gangster was shot and wounded last week in Surrey, B.C. Supt. Tom McCluskie told reporters both that incident and the high-profile slaying of Red Scorpions' gang boss Jonathan Bacon in August amount to a high expectation by his 80 investigators that more attacks are on the way. "We're anticipating retaliatory violence, yes," he said at a news conference held at an office of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in Delta, B.C. "I'm not trying to instill fear in the citizens, but certainly there's enough tension in there that we're concerned there will be a retaliation, that there will be further violence." The 24-year-old man shot in his car on Friday was a known member of the Dhak crime group, which police say runs an illegal drug ring throughout the Lower Mainland. One member of that family, Gurmit Dhak, was shot dead in his BMW at a suburban Burnaby mall last October, in another scenario police said was planned. Anyone with ties to either the Dhak or Duhre crime families are currently believed to be in heightened danger, and hanging around with such people could result in peril, McCluskie said. He said he's especially concerned for the members' girl friends and those who are simply connected on the social scene. Members of both groups have been linked to criminal activity on numerous occasions by police in B.C. in the past. While the public is not the intended target, McCluskie said, there's no telling where or when the tension will flare up again as gang rivalries rear their ugly head. It means bystanders could even get caught in the crossfire, he said. Thirty-year-old Bacon was shot to death outside a posh hotel in Kelowna. The gunfire that put the latest gangster in hospital broke out on a city street. "It's the fact these guys don't care where it is, they have no regard whatsoever for the general public," McCluskie said. Officers are examining the possibility the two incidents are directly linked, although at this point it's too early to draw conclusions, he said. "As of right now we haven't made any confirmed connection." The news conference is the most vocal and direct police have been in declaring expectations around the possibility of more bloodshed since Bacon died. Tit-for-tat clashes became a weekly occurrence for several months back in 2009, as turf battles played out in the Lower Mainland. There were at least four dozen shootings that year in the Vancouver area alone. Tensions were reduced to simmering, however, as police changed their strategy, made arrests of prominent players and conducted more behind-the-scenes enforcement. Police say alarm bells went off for many dealing with the organized crime world when Bacon was unexpectedly taken out. A full-patch member of the Hells Angels and another alleged gang member were hit by the mid-day volley of gunfire on Aug. 14, while two others accompanying them in a luxury SUV were also wounded. McCluskie said he's "pleased" with how his team is progressing in that investigation, but couldn't say when any arrests may be made. McCluskie wouldn't give any details about the new "intelligence" his team has gathered suggesting people tied to the two families are in danger, in order to protect the investigation. He said officers have already conducted several "duty-to-warns," telling known gang members they have reason to believe they might be next. "I'm not confident it reaches all those individuals, I'm hopeful," he said, noting he's less concerned about giving the groups credence by putting out the warning than letting the public know the risks. "Quite often the gangs don't listen to us very well."
