The biggest burglary in English legal history was masterminded by a gang that included men in their 70s with extensive criminal pasts, who broke into the vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit to steal £14m worth of jewels, gold and cash, a court has heard.
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Experienced criminal Brian Reader, 76, withdrew when the gang ran into difficulties trying to get into the vault on the night of 2 April.
The Hatton Garden heist was the “largest burglary in English legal history” and was planned for nearly three years, prosecutors claimed today. “Two of these men had also been involved in a few of the biggest acquisitive crime of the last century, and the other two had for many years in their earlier lives been involved in serious theft”.
They are also accused of helping to dispose of the jewellery and other items stolen in the raid, alongside plumbing engineer Hugh Doyle, 48.
Before being sworn, jurors were asked if they had any connection with the jewellery trade or Hatton Garden, or if they knew anyone who suffered losses in the burglary.
Detectives believe the raid was carried out after thieves used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the wall of a vault.
The thieves then brought down wheelie bins and made off with up to £14million of valuables including jewellery, precious stones and ingots and bullion, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
In relation to the heist, three other men are on trial charged with conspiracy to burgle – William Lincoln, 60, of Winkley Street, Bethnal Green, Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and John Harbinson, 42, of Beresford Gardens, Benfleet, Essex.
“This leaves, somewhere in the world, a great deal of criminal property from Hatton Garden, which has been concealed, converted or transferred”.
They all deny the charges and spoke only to confirm their identities.
Collins, of Bletsoe Walk, Islington; Jones, of Park Avenue, Enfield; Perkins, of Heene Road, Enfield and Reader, of Dartford Road, Dartford have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.
While media outlets had speculated that the value of the haul could be in the vicinity of £200 million ($303 million), now estimates placed the value of the stolen property at £14 million, he said.
It was also revealed that a mystery burglar with red hair called “Basil”, who was caught on CCTV, was involved but has escaped capture.
“Both men returned home, as the attempts to access the vault, unbeknownst to them, continued inside”, Mr Evans said.
Reader was referred to by the other men as the “Governor” or the “Master” as he was heavily involved in planning the burglary. He said that when police raided his substantial home in Dartford they found a book on the diamond underworld, a diamond tester, a diamond gauge and diamond magazines.
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As far back as August 2012, one of the men involved in the crime had searched on the Internet for drills, and by May 2014 the searches had progressed to YouTube tutorials on how to use a specific drill.
