Alex Mendieta at his offices on Thursday morning. Credit:Joe Armao The Lamborghini-driving diamond trader is a prominent figure on Melbourne's nightclub scene and is understood to own a small stake in an upmarket Prahran venue. On Thursday afternoon, police raided Mr Mendieta's penthouse home in Roy Street, just off St Kilda Road. They also raided other properties in Southbank and Caulfied North and impounded a Lamborghini. Police have also seized a number of items believed to either be stolen or the proceeds of crime including cash, gold and silver, precious stones and gold bullion.

Pop star Delta Goodrem performed at Mr Mendieta's 30th birthday party last year. Credit:Facebook "The investigation into the selling and receiving of stolen jewellery was launched by the gangs crime squad following a series of jewellery store armed robberies across Melbourne over the past year," the police spokesman said. The robberies are understood to have included broad daylight attacks on suburban jewellery stores involving gangs of African youths armed with machetes, baseball bats and hammers. Suspected stolen gold seized in a police raid on gold trader Alejandro Mendieta. Credit:Joe Armao Crime Command Acting Commander Peter De Santo said Thursday's arrests and seizures highlights the scope of these crimes.

"It's not only about identifying and targeting offenders involved in violent incidents at jewellery stores, it's also about investigating what happens after those offences occur," Mr De Santo told Fairfax Media. Gold knuckle dusters seized in the raid on Alejandro Mendieta's Collins Street offices. Credit:Joe Armao "We know that offenders will be looking to move on items, many of which have significant value, so it's about making sure we follow those lines of enquiry and stop those providing avenues for the disposal of these goods. "These incidents have a significant impact on victims, whether it's those who are in the store at the time of the offence or those business owners who are left with the loss of stock and damage to their stores. A Lamborghini seized by police. Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.

"We understand there has been a lot of concern from business owners, as well as the wider community, about this offending. Mr De Santo would not speculate on the number of robberies the three men were connected to, however, he said there had been 33 armed robberies on jewellery shops across Melbourne. The diamond dealer's offices were raided on Thursday morning. Credit:Joe Armao He also believed the men may be linked to a spate of violent home invasions and said investigators will allege the three men were the recipients of the proceeds these crimes. "Even today whilst investigators executing search warrants at the jewellery store in Collins street, we had known criminals attending trying to fence off goods, gold and jewels that we suspect are also proceeds of crime from recent aggravated burglaries and home invasions across Melbourne," he said.

Diamond dealer Alex Mendieta. "They are the facilitators that enable organised crime to exist in this space at the current time." Mr De Santo said police were still determining the estimated value of the gold, cash, silver and precious jewels seized in the raids on Thursday morning. He said was unclear if the three men were related to each other, however, he confirmed they were all of Colombian descent. Mr Mendieta owns Sell Your Gold Pty Ltd and Diamond On Sale Pty Ltd, which are both based in an office building near the corner of Collins and Swanston streets.

At midday on Thursday, detectives continued to gather evidence from the offices. Mr Mendieta could be seen responding to questions from police, as potential customers looking to sell gold were turned away. The wholesale businesses trade in gold and precious stones with private individuals and businesses. Until recently, Mr Mendieta rented the Roy Street penthouse, but recently purchased a Surrey Hills property for $2.5 million and a development site in Dandenong, according to sources in the jewellery trade. Pop star Delta Goodrem performed at Mr Mendieta's 30th birthday party at St Kilda East venue Red Scooter last year.

Victoria Police are expected to release further details later this afternoon. The three men are due to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon. More to come