Scotland Yard apologises for failing to attend premises despite alarm as raids on 12 addresses across London and Kent recover high-value items

Detectives have arrested seven people in connection with the audacious heist of a safety deposit box vault in Londons Hatton Garden jewellery district.

The arrests came after 200 officers raided 12 addresses across London and Kent on Tuesday.

Police said the seven men arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle were aged between 48 and 76 and that they had recovered a large amount of high-value property from properties raided. The arrests followed police using covert tactics to identify possible suspects.

They said they were confident some of the property recovered in the raids, which took place at about 10.30am, came from Hatton Garden.

The heist happened over the Easter weekend. The gang drilled through a thick concrete wall then rifled through 72 secure boxes believed to contain millions of pounds worth of cash, jewels and other valuables.

Tuesday mornings raids were staged by Scotland Yards Flying Squad its elite branch devoted to high-value robberies and other armed crime with four people arrested in Enfield, north London, one in east London and two in Dartford, Kent.

In a statement, police said: A number of large bags containing significant amounts of high-value property have been recovered from one address. Officers are confident these are items stolen during the burglary.

All seven men have been taken to a London police station. Searches at the addresses are ongoing.