Briton is sought over £21m Tokyo robbery

A British woman is one of the chief suspects in Japan's biggest robbery.

A British woman is one of the chief suspects in Japan's biggest robbery.

Tokyo police are seeking international arrest warrants for the woman, who is in her 50s, and three Serbians, wanted for the smash-and-grab raid which netted £21.2m of gems from a store in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district in March. Among the 12 items of jewellery stolen was a 125-carat diamond necklace, valued at £15m.

The Briton, who has not been named, is believed to have scouted out Le Supre-Diamant Couture De Maki store along with a Serbian woman in her 20s. They are then said to have kept look-out as the two men, in their 30s, entered the store posing as customers. The men attacked a member of staff with pepper spray and smashed a glass case before snatching the jewels and escaping through Tokyo's busy streets on a motorcycle. The gang then fled to France on false passports, police said.

The robbery was Japan's largest in terms of value, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

Detectives have already obtained domestic arrest warrants for the four on charges of robbery and assault and are to ask Interpol to put them on the international wanted list.