Thief's Slick Diamond Heist Caught on Camera

Video footage captured the moment Claudia Rostas, a 33-year-old member of a Romanian gang, deftly stole a diamond ring valued at £5,750. The incident occurred on April 26, 2025, at Hamilton's, a family-run jewellers in Christchurch, Dorset. Rostas employed a distraction technique, asking staff to gift-wrap the ring, then swapping it out as the jeweller turned away for a few seconds. She handed back an empty package and left the store, claiming she needed more money from her mother outside. The theft was meticulously recorded by the jeweller's CCTV system, leading to Rostas's identification and arrest at Stansted Airport. She was given a 26-week sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £800 compensation. Despite a history of similar thefts, Rostas received a lenient sentence. Her defence highlighted her son's ongoing battle with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and a brain tumour, and the loss of another child to cancer in 2022. The judge cited these circumstances in sparing her immediate imprisonment. District Judge Orla Austin acknowledged Rostas's 'dishonest' nature and 'limited remorse' but opted for a suspended sentence to allow her to care for her terminally ill son. Rostas also received a one-year ban from most shops in England and Wales.