TERRIFIED locals on billionaire’s row use prowling canines, 27/7 CCTV and personal safety to cease copy-cats after £10.4m cash heist.
Avenue Street in Camden, London, often known as “Billionaire’s Row”, has a repute for being one of many priciest streets within the UK.
Shafira Huang, a social media influencer and artwork collector, had £150,000 of Hermes Crocodile Kelly purses, £15,000 in money and £10.4m of bespoke jewelry snatched from her house on December 7.
Regardless of CCTV footage of the burglar, he’s but to be caught, following the housebreaking on December 7, 2024.
Now residents are upping their safety recreation and defending themselves however say there is just one factor accountable.
Strolling alongside Avenue Street, huge houses sit behind tall gates, laden with safety cameras.
The highway itself is busy because it connects the close by underground station Swiss Cottage to Regent’s Park.
Though the encompassing roads appear quiet, a swarm of safety guards probe the realm.
Serving as a reminder of the wealth that surrounds us, together with the rocketing crime charges.
Massive plaques which learn “watch out for information canines” and “24 hour CCTV footage” additionally characteristic on just about each house.
One native, Sarah-Jane, 55, advised The Solar that crime is a fear, however having a canine makes her really feel safer.
She stated: “You’ve received to be streetwise and wise. However it’s nonetheless horrifying.”
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One native, Kumrio Eokuamci, 70, has even come nose to nose with a thief in her house.
Ms Eokuamci has lived on Avenue Street for 40 years.
She stated: “They [burglars] got here from this home [she points] and jumped from the neighbours backyard into mine.
“As I went into the kitchen, they [burglars] had been attempting to interrupt in by way of the kitchen door.
“It was solely 8pm. When he [the burglar] noticed me, he ran. I known as the police, they got here spherical, however my again door was already damaged.”
She added: “It’s very harmful right here.”
Homes on this space promote for round £15.5 million, knowledge from Lloyds Financial institution signifies.
In the meantime, Ms Huang’s home is at present in the marketplace for just below £60million.
It boasts “expansive dwelling areas”, CCTV, a passenger carry, two kitchens 10 bedrooms, and an underground automobile park.
The person who burgled Ms Huang’s home can also be stated to have gone undetected by as much as eight home employees members, MailOnline stories.
For Gerry, 55, who has lived within the space for 40 years, the latest heist reveals the detrimental penalties of social media and “extreme wealth” have.
He stated: “How can folks have that a lot wealth and simply go away it mendacity round? Certainly this may very well be higher distributed with those that have much less?”
“It’s an indicator of the place society has gone incorrect. We had been simply speaking concerning the stratospheric rides in these properties.
“It’s all the time been the rich, however now it is the Uber rich, they’ve received non-public securities and all.
“We dwell in a really polarised society, with council flats simply over there.
“I really feel for the household, but in addition it is unimaginable that you could have that a lot wealth mendacity round and a whole lot of individuals are homeless in Camden City.”’
With fury to match, native Lee, 45, believes “social media is the basis of all evil” and it’s accountable for this main cash heist.
He stated: “Within the specific occasion on Avenue Street, if somebody flaunts their wealth on Instagram, they’re actually creating a store window for burglars as if to say ‘come and take it.’
He stated: “I believe there’s a technology of people who find themselves on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, who’re attempting to create higher realities of their life.
“That’s the platform world however it’s not the actual world. Social media is the basis of all evil.”
Two younger women, strolling in the direction of Avenue Street defined how they’ve lived within the space for years.
Regardless of loving the realm, they are saying social media is worsening crime charges.
Scarlet, 32: “I believe Avenue Street is infamous for crime as a result of the homes are so huge however I don’t assume it helps with social media.
“You should be cautious about what you’re documenting together with having folks comply with you house.
Lauren, 32: “It’s simply harmful now, London, in all places.
“Clearly it is a focused space as a result of there’s huge houses and there is lots of rich folks across the space however you simply need to bear in mind.”
Kamran, 58, visiting from Dubai however at present staying on Avenue Street stated: “Whoever broke into that home will need to have identified they had been conserving valuables in the home however usually, the safety is admittedly excessive on this space.”
For a lot of locals, the rise of social media and a brand new wave of residents has contributed to the rise in crime focused at high-networth people.
