The 14 are thought to be members of a 21-strong gang, who considered themselves untouchable. They are being questioned about thefts including those at Ombersley Court in Worcester (October 2005), Stanton Harcourt Manor, Oxfordshire (November 2005), Rendcombe Manor, Gloucestershire (also November 2005), Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire (February 2006) and Woolley Park House, Berkshire (April 2006).
The theft of more than 100 gold boxes at Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury in June 2003, when stolen 4x4 vehicles were used to smash bolted gates, is also believed to be part of the investigation.
More than 100 officers were involved in the dawn raids at three addresses in Oxfordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire on Tuesday, October 10. One of the targets was a caravan site in Cleeve Prior, Evesham, where seven people, some believed to be from a well-known gypsy family, were arrested.
All of those arrested are being questioned over conspiracy to commit a total of 23 offences that also include thefts from cash machines, shops and hotels. The raids followed the guilty plea of Alan 'Jimmy' Johnson at Oxford Crown Court on a charge of conspiracy to steal from cash machines. Johnson, the leader of an Irish-born travelling family, has long been pursued by police in connection with art and antiques thefts.
The ongoing investigation is part of Operation Haul, an initiative involving police from five forces launched in 2005 to look at the activities of an extremely violent and intimidating crime network operating throughout the south of England. Police from Thames Valley, West Mercia, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire helped in the arrests. "We had a common problem, we had a common issue we needed to deal with. We came together and we actually worked together to solve this," said Detective Superintendent Mark Warwick of Thames Valley Police.
However, while detectives claimed to have smashed an arts and antiques ring, so far little of the stolen goods - with a collective value of more than £100m - have been recovered. Police are hoping that inquiries over the next few days could lead to more being seized but, in the belief that most of the stolen property has been sold on, detectives urged antiques dealers to be alert. For example, none of the gold boxes from Waddesdon Manor have surfaced after four years.
The one breakthrough remains the stash of 140 objects discovered in underground storage on wasteland close to Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of March. As widely reported, the recovered objects, packed in straw inside dustbins, represented close to 40 per cent of the total volume taken in Britian's largest domestic robbery at Ramsbury Manor, Wiltshire.
However, ATG have learnt that the recovered items are only a fraction of the total value of the stolen objects and the Ramsbury silver, 13 Golden Age English table clocks and two remarkable barometers are among the many pieces still at large.
