Detectives who helped jail an armed robber for a “terrifying” jewellery shop heist say they “remain committed to pursuing his accomplices”.

Robertas Piliukaitis, aged 50, was jailed for 12 years at Ipswich Crown court on Wednesday, May 6 for his role in the Bury St Edmunds store heist, which took place nearly six years ago.

At 4.56pm on November 4, 2014, Piliukaitis entered the Preston & Duckworth store where he threatened staff and customers with his fake pistol, whilst an accomplice used a hammer to smash display cabinets containing valuable watches.

The 50-year-old fled to Dublin until he was brought back to Suffolk on a warrant.

Detective Sergeant Robert Simmons, the investigating officer on the case, has spoken about how long it has taken to bring the robber to justice.

He said: “It has been a long road to justice for Robertas Piliukaitis, but it caught up with him in the end.

“This was a terrifying incident for the staff and customers who were inside the shop on that Tuesday afternoon, with three of those present children aged under 16 and I can only imagine how afraid they must have felt having a gun pointed at them.”

DS Simmons acknowledged that Piliukaitis had the decency to admit his crime and he has since shown remorse for his actions.

He has also claimed he committed the crime under duress and feared repercussions if he did not comply.

DS Simmons added: “Piliukaitis did not commit this robbery alone and we remain committed to pursuing his accomplices.

“Anyone with information about this crime is asked to come forward and help us catch all of those responsible.

“Crime does not pay and what I hope this demonstrates is that no matter how long the passage of time, we will continue to pursue the offenders of serious offences such as this and do not give up on catching them and putting them before the courts.”