Police are hunting a man accused of a $35 million heist on a mansion belonging to the daughter of ex-F1 Bernie Ecclestone, Tamara Ecclestone and further raids on two Premier League managers, with reports claiming he is hiding in Belgrade.
Alfredo Lindley, who goes by the names of Daniel Vukovic, Ljubomir Radosavljevic and Ljubomir Romanov among 19 known aliases, is accused of masterminding a series of robberies in the swanky London area of Kensington and Chelsea in December 2019.
The vast haul of around 400 pieces of jewelry, gems and cash stolen from Ecclestone, the 37-year-old socialite daughter of former Formula 1 boss Bernie, constitutes the largest domestic burglary ever witnessed in the UK.
Ecclestone was on holiday in Lapland when her Kensington mansion was raided despite armed security guards patroling the palatial home on Kensington Palace Gardens in London, which is known as the most expensive street in the world.
The embassies of Russia, France and Israel are based there, as well as homes belonging to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the Sultan of Brunei.
Lindley is said to have briefly stayed in a Chelsea apartment, then left the UK on an AirSerbia flight to Belgrade on December 18 – the last time police believe he was in the country.
Around $67,000 in watches and jewelry were also swiped from a home shared by former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard with TV presenter wife Christine.
A property owned by Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner of Premier League club Leicester before his death in a helicopter crash in 2018, was also ransacked for more than $1.3 million in watches, money and a collection of Thai Buddha pendants.
The three burglaries took place over 13 days by an international criminal gang flying between the UK, Italy, Sweden and Japan, with precious little of the spoils recovered so far.
Lindley is thought to be in Belgrade and is also accused of an attack on the home of current Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira and then-teammate Sulley Muntari in 2009.
The midfielders were playing for Inter in the Milan derby when possessions from their home worth more than $1.1 million were stolen.
“Detectives from Specialist Crime are seeking a man known as Ljubomir Romanov,” a statement from UK specialist police force Scotland Yard said.
“He is wanted for questioning in respect of a series of high value burglaries committed in December 2019 in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The enquiry continues.”
According to the BBC, the Peruvian national has a criminal record in Italy for fraud and robberies under multiple identities over more than 25 years.
He appeared in a Belgrade court in August to face extradition under the name Ljubomir Romanov, but authorities reportedly refused the case.
The outlet said that Lindley is listed as the co-owner of a construction business in Belgrade and has a Serbian Government-issued ID showing his home address in the city’s municipality of Obrenovac.
Three Italian nationals, Jugoslav Jovanovic, 24, Alessandro Donati, 44, and Alessandro Maltese, 45, will be sentenced later this month after being extradited from Italy to the UK and admitting their role in the robberies.
