Gang convicted after robbery of suitcase full of £4million worth of gems from international jewellery salesman

Lee Gardner, Camilo Carvajal, Ciro Troyano and Oscar Hicks ambushed and attacked Joseph Savoie, who worked for Le Vian, for a case filled with high-value stones.

A gang of four men have been convicted after robbing an international jewellery salesman of a suitcase full of precious gems worth £4 million.

Lee Gardner, Camilo Carvajal, Ciro Troyano and Oscar Hicks were all convicted of conspiracy to rob on Friday at Kingston Crown Court.

The target of their "professional planned" operation was Joseph Savoie, who worked for exclusive US designer Le Vian.

On his way to display the company's high-value stones in Ernest Jones in Staines, west London, Savoie was ambushed by the gang in a car park.

On the morning of May 13, 2019, the four men beat Savoie almost unconscious and took the jewel-filled case from his car boot, which included the company's signature brown "chocolate diamonds."

Watch the video above to see the gang conspiring to rob the international jewellery salesman.

The gang had stalked Savoie in a Mercedes fitted with fake number plates before pouncing, even ripping his watch and gold necklace from him along with the case, before smashing the car park barrier as they sped off.

In the days beforehand, the group, all from London, had staked out Ernest Jones stores in Solihull, West Midlands, and Maidenhead, Berkshire, as Mr Savoie displayed his wares there, a court was told.

The trial heard how the gang had tracked Mr Savoie's movements after the schedule announcing his arrival at the store was posted on the Ernest Jones website to attract customers.

But their conspiracy was undone after detectives traced their movements through mobile phone records, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and CCTV images, the court heard.

Police found some stolen items at the homes of the defendants along with thousands of pounds in cash, and messages showing they had been trying to sell the high-value pieces.

Detectives also recovered some of the jewellery from pawn shops, including two distinctive Le Vian rings, near the defendants' addresses.

Gardner, 48, of Wood Green, north London, Carvajal, 40, of Lewisham, south east London, Troyano, 41, of Southwark, south London and Hicks, 38, of St Leonards-on-Sea were found guilty of conspiracy to rob by majority verdicts after jurors deliberated for more than 19 hours.

Some of the defendants shook their heads or held their heads in their hands as the guilty verdicts were delivered.

Judge Georgina Kent will sentence the four men at the same court on February 6.

Surrey Police Detective Sergeant Kate Hyder, who investigated the case, said: "This was a professionally planned robbery, with all four defendants playing their part to pull it off.

"Unfortunately, the violent and sustained attack they inflicted on the victim has had a massive impact on his life and has caused him enormous distress.

"I hope that the guilty verdicts handed out today will provide him with some form of closure and that he can finally begin to move on with his life now that all four men have been brought to justice."