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| Top: lef to right (Usman Khan, Ali Askhor, Shahzad Farooq) Bottom: left to right (Shah Almaruf, Samantha Farrell-Blake) |
A court was told how his band of thieves travelled from the North West to carry out surveillance on the shop in spring this year.
CCTV shown in court showed the moment gang member Ali Askhor, 19, posed as an innocent customer to gain entry to the jeweller's.
The footage showed a staff member unlock the door, at which point the rest of the gang burst into the shop wearing balaclavas and gloves and carrying hammers.
A jury was told how it was Usman Khan, 20, Shahzad Farooq, 21, and an unidentified third man who carried out the robbery.
They smashed the display cabinets with their weapons and stole jewellery estimated to be worth a staggering £300,000.
Smoke alarms in the shop were activated before the men fled the scene in a black Audi S5, leaving staff badly shaken but unhurt.
Samantha Farrell-Blake, 44, who had acted as the getaway driver following the robbery.
The court was told how police suspected Shah Almaruf, 19, then drove back to Newcastle in the days after the incident to collect the abandoned Audi.
The five suspects, Shah Almaruf, Samantha Farrell-Blake, Shahzad Farooq, Ali Askhor and Usman Khan who all lived in Oldham and Birmingham, were arrested and later charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
They were all remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the same court on February 15. The case has been held in Manchester due to the majority of witnesses and defendants residing in the North West.
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