The career criminals decided to sun themselves on the Costa del Sol while the heat is on at home.

Generic Harrods image

POLICE hunting shopping molls Annette Daniel and Jean McGovern fear the thieves have fled to Spain.

The career criminals decided to sun themselves on the Costa del Sol while the heat is on at home.

We told last week how Daniel, McGovern and three gang members were being probed over a £24,000 designer dress theft from Harrods.

CCTV images of the gang at work in the posh store in London’s Knightsbridge have been passed to the Metropolitan Police.

But the prime suspects in the robbery have now fled the UK for Marbella.

One source said: “The heat caused by the Harrods job is intense and they decided to get out as quickly as possible.

“They’ll have to return at some point but I don’t think they will be in a hurry. If I was a shopkeeper in Marbella, I’d be keeping my eyes peeled for a pair of middle-aged Scottish women.”

Marbella has a string of designer stores including Carte Ingles in Puerto Banus, which carries top lines such as Prada and Tommy Hilfiger.

Last week we revealed four Roberto Cavalli and Ralph Lauren frocks had been nicked from Harrods. The store – feared by thieves for its stringent security – didn’t notice they were missing until the following day.

Daniel, 50, and McGovern, 45, who both have lengthy criminal records, are suspected of conducting the theft with gang members Roberta Burke, 48, Julie Tomlin, 32, and John Thomson.

The pair – members of Glasgow crime clans – run a team of professional thieves who travel around the UK.