A burglar has been jailed for stealing 159 luxury watches worth £1.4 million from the Bluewater shopping centre in Dartford, Kent. David Buisson, 56, of Malkin Drive, Harlow, admitted conspiring to commit burglary and was sentenced to six years and one month at Maidstone Crown Court.
On the evening of 7 February, Buisson travelled to Bluewater in a Mercedes GLA with cloned number plates, accompanied by a criminal associate. Wearing a facemask, he used a telescopic ladder to access the roof and cut a hole in the ceiling to enter the building, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Once inside, Buisson overcame several security measures to reach a secure area and stole more than 150 watches from a safe. He then returned to a getaway car in an adjacent car park. An alarm had activated during the burglary, and staff alerted Kent Police upon their return.
Specialist detectives tracked the getaway car and Buisson's movements using CCTV footage and mobile data, despite the cloned plates. Buisson was arrested on 12 February in Cumbria, where police discovered a camcorder and a bag containing stolen watches in his Vauxhall Corsa.
Another man, Stephen Smitherman, was arrested and charged on the same day with three stolen watches in his car, but he died while on remand. Holly Morton, deputy chief Crown Prosecutor, said: 'David Buisson went through enormous effort to carry out a premeditated burglary that caused significant financial loss to a local business. His sentencing sends a clear message that no matter how sophisticated your methods or elaborate your planning, criminals will be robustly pursued by law enforcement, prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service, and brought to justice.'
