The Telegraph is reporting that the Sony CD warehouse destroyed in London might have been cover for a professional heist rather than some of the random destruction which typified the London riots. The article notes:

Evidence has now emerged suggesting that the well-guarded Sony DADC distribution centre was deliberately targeted by a professional gang, in a carefully planned raid, using the riots as a distraction. Sources in the security industry disclosed that intruders first arrived wielding specialist cutting equipment and spent up to two hours dismantling a high security fence before breaking in. It is claimed that they then summoned a fleet of vans and drove inside the premises, which are set back from the main focus of rioting in the area, before beginning to load up stock. After loading up with stolen goods, the robbers are then said to have invited other gangs in to continue the looting in an attempt to cover their tracks.

The warehouse was also the main hub for PIAS, the largest indie distributor in the UK and distro for labels like Beggars, Domino, Drag City, Drive-Thru Records, Fat Cat Records, Nuclear Blast , Rough Trade, Secretly Canadian , Jagjaguwar, Side One Dummy Records, Touch and Go Records, Vagrant Records, Vice Records, Victory Records, Xtra Mile and many more.

The London riots began August 6th, 2011 following the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old civilian, Mark Duggan, by members of the Metropolitan Police Service. Some commentators drew parallels between the recent riots and those that rocked the country in the 80s under Margaret Thatcher.