masked gang force victim to hand over £1,100,000 in daring crypto heist

Thames Valley Police have arrested four men as part of their investigation into the robbery (Picture: PA)

Masked criminals forced their way into a car and stole more than £1.1million in cryptocurrency in an audacious daylight robbery.

Five people,two men and three women,were driving from Oxford to London on Tuesday,November 4 when ‘a number of men wearing face coverings entered the vehicle’,according to police.

The robbers forced the victims to hand over a £450,000 watch,their phones and make a transfer of more than £1.1million in cryptocurrency.

After around 30 minutes,the offenders left the car in the Five Mile Drive area of Oxford. The victims then called police.

Officers have so far arrested four men across the country as part of their’complex investigation’ into the ‘high-value robbery’ and are appealing to the public for help. 

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Investigating officer,detective sergeant Stuart McMaster said: ‘I am appealing to members of the public who may have seen anything suspicious or have footage of three vehicles in some specific locations in Oxford and Kidlington.‘We want to hear from you if you saw or have footage of either a black BMW saloon car,a blue Hyundai Ioniq or a silver Mercedes Benz Vito in the area of Yarnton Road and Sandy Lane between Kidlington and Yarnton,or in Five Mile Drive,Carey Close,Rotherfield Road and Kirk Close in Oxford between 1pm and 4pm on Tuesday 4 November.’The robbers left the car in the Five Mile Drive area of Oxford (Picture: Google)He added: ‘Thames Valley Police has been conducting a thorough investigation into the offences. This has included house to house,CCTV,ANPR,digital,forensic,crypto-currency and financial enquiries.‘We have also conducted warrants in London and Birmingham along with arrests in Kent,arresting four men.‘We are supporting the victims and keeping them updated during our complex investigation.’Police arrested a 21-year-old man from London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery,kidnap and other driving offences – and bailed him until January 14.Officers also arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of robbery and kidnap and bailed until January 30.A 23-year-old man from Kent was arrested on suspicion of robbery and kidnap and was bailed until February 7.And a 19-year-old man from Birmingham who was arrested on suspicion of robbery,kidnap and possession of articles for use in fraud was bailed until January 29.Anyone with information or footage has been urged to contact Thames Valley Police by visiting a police station,leaving details on its dedicated webpage for this investigation or calling 101.