Serial burglar who took more than £360,000 worth of diamonds during a raid on an Indian tycoon’s £14.5m Mayfair mansion is jailed for more than three years

A serial burglar who swiped more than £360,000 worth of diamonds during a raid on an Indian tycoon’s £14.5m Mayfair mansion was jailed for more than three years today.
Rightous Garnett, 49, was caught with bracelets, rings, earrings and watches worth tens of thousands of pounds that were snatched during a burglary at the five bedroom townhouse on Chesterfield Street.

Garnett was jailed for three years and three months after he admitted taking the jewels in a burglary at the mansion on November 1, 2014.

Southwark Crown Court heard the house belonged to Neeraj Kanwar, the managing director of Indian manufacturing giants Apollo Tyres Ltd, which had a revenue of more than £1.2 billion in 2011.

Prosecutor Greg Unwin said: ‘Two males had gone into that property when there were staff present who had heard the door slam but didn’t see them.

‘They had found their way to an upstairs room and stole a very substantial amount of jewellery from the owner, which was kept in a pouch.’

Police recovered £160,000 worth of Mr Kanwar’s diamonds when they searched Garnett’s house in Maida Vale, west London, following his arrest on November 17 last year.

He had been identified by security staff after breaking into another Mayfair mansion just after 9pm.

CCTV later revealed the crook had sneaked into the same house in Culcross Street - where properties are valued at more than £18m - during an attempted burglary nine days earlier.

The raids were the latest in a long line of burglaries by the strapping 6’3” personal trainer from St Lucia.

Garnett tricked his way into the home of Lady Delia Pilcher in 1998 and assaulted her 62-year-old butler before he eventually fled empty-handed.

He was jailed for five years after admitting burglary and assault at Southwark Crown Court.

Garnett was jailed again for a succession of burglaries in 2002 and served seven months for a raid in 2012.

He admitted burglary, attempted burglary and handling stolen goods today.