2 charged in theft of rare jewelry from Formula 1 heiress

LONDON (AP) — British police have charged two people in the December theft of millions of pounds’ (dollars’) worth of jewelry from the home of heiress Tamara Ecclestone.

Police said Saturday that London residents Maria Mester, 47, and Emil-Bogdan Savastru, 29, have been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary. Two other men who had been arrested have been released but are still being investigated.

London police said the arrests were related to the heist at Ecclestone’s palatial home on one of London’s most exclusive streets in the pricey Kensington neighborhood. She is the daughter of former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone.

High-value jewelry was taken from her home, leaving her “angry and shaken,” the family said in a statement at the time.

The Sun newspaper said the stolen jewelry was worth about 50 million pounds ($66 million) and included precious rings, earrings and a Cartier bangle Ecclestone received as a wedding present.

Mester was taken into custody on Friday at London’s Stansted Airport. Savastru was detained at Heathrow Airport on Thursday.

They are scheduled to make their first court appearance Saturday.