SMOKE and MIRRORS by Sue Akande

Dressed in a smart, long coat and brimmed hat and carrying a large handbag,

She strode into Boodles, the jewellers in Mayfair.

This was ‘Anna’, sent to value seven sparklers,

Diamonds worth over four million pounds.

 

She was working for a group of wealthy Russian investors

Who wanted to buy the gems.

As a ‘gemologist’ she set to work examining the stones,

With the boss of Boodles and one of their diamond experts.

 

But the boss was called away.

‘Alexander’, one of the buyers, was on the line.

The diamond expert was left alone with ‘Anna’

And as she handled the jewels in their pouch, she put it into her bag!

 

She was told to give the pouch back and so

Anna duly produced the pouch and put it on the table.

Unsettled, the diamond expert raised her concerns,

Anna’s bag was searched but all seemed in order and the pouch was put back in the safe.

The meeting at an end ‘Anna’ stepped out into the sunshine.

 

So, imagine the horror when, the very next day,

The pouch of jewels was opened and

Instead of seven diamonds

Seven pebbles were in the pouch instead!

 

Who had acted with such audacity?

Who had committed this sleight of hand heist?

And how had she pulled off this sort of smoke and mirrors illusion

At the top jewellers, in Mayfair?

 

‘Anna’, age 60, real name Lulu Lakatos,

Had put the diamonds in a hidden compartment in her bag

And produced an identical pouch full of pebbles,

When asked to return the purse of diamonds.

 

Making efforts to disguise herself

She hot footed it to Paddington, jumping on Eurostar to make her escape.

But CCTV footage provided strong proof of her identity and crime

And she was finally arrested and charged to do her time.

 

The grand larceny has been likened to a scene from a Hollywood movie.

There is no doubt, Lulu played a key role.

But she did not work alone.

And while she sits in jail, enquiries are ongoing to capture the rest of her gang, who have flown.