This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/23/hatton-garden-burglary-planned-over-almost-three-years-trial-hears

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Hatton Garden burglary planned over almost three years, trial hears Hatton Garden heist was 'largest burglary in English legal history'
(about 1 hour later)
The multi-million pound burglary of a Hatton Garden vault was being planned for almost three years, the opening day of the trial has heard. A gang which included pensioners and serious criminals carried out the “largest burglary in English legal history” when they broke into a Hatton Garden vault and stole millions of pounds worth of jewels and cash, a court has heard.
Four men are on trial for the theft of up to £20m worth of jewels, gold and cash from a Hatton Garden vault. The claim was made by the prosecutor on the opening day of the trial of four men over the theft of £10m-£20m worth of valuables from the building in London’s diamond district during Easter weekend.
The burglary in London over Easter weekend is believed to have led to around £10m-20m of valuables being stolen by a gang who bored a hole through a thick concrete wall to enter the vault in the heart of the diamond district. The oldest ringleader, 76-year-old Brian Reader, who has already pleaded guilty, was known as “the master”. When his home was raided, police found “a book on the diamond underworld, a diamond tester, a diamond gauge, diamond magazines”, the jury at Woolwich crown court heard on Monday.
Three men are charged with conspiracy to burgle. They are William Lincoln, 60, of Bethnal Green, east London; John Harbinson, 42, of Benfleet, Essex; and Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. The multi-million pound burglary, in which the gang bored a hole through a thick concrete wall to enter the vault, was planned for almost three years, prosecutor Philip Evans said.
Three men are charged with conspiracy to burgle: William Lincoln, 60, of Bethnal Green, east London; John Harbinson, 42, of Benfleet, Essex; and Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
They and Hugh Doyle, 48, of Enfield, north London, are also charged with conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property. And Doyle is charged with actually concealing, converting or transferring criminal property.They and Hugh Doyle, 48, of Enfield, north London, are also charged with conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property. And Doyle is charged with actually concealing, converting or transferring criminal property.
They deny all the charges.They deny all the charges.
Prosecutor Philip Evans told the jury at Woolwich crown court on Monday: “This case involves well-publicised events which took place between 2 April and 5 April (Easter weekend) earlier this year. Over that weekend a group of men carried out a plan to steal from the basement area of a building in Hatton Garden, the jewellery district of central London. Four men have already pleaded guilty to the burglary, the jury heard.
“You may already be aware that a very substantial quantity of gold, jewellery, precious stones, cash and other items were stolen from the vault in the basement of a building at 88-90 Hatton Garden.” John Collins, 74, of Islington, north London; Daniel Jones, 58, and Terry Perkins, 67, both of Enfield, north London; and Reader, of Dartford, Kent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle with intent to steal jewellery.
Evans told the court that planning for the heist began in 2012. The prosecution claims Reader, Collins, Jones and Perkins were the ringleaders.
“These four ringleaders and organisers of this conspiracy, although senior in years, brought with them a great deal of experience in planning and executing sophisticated and serious acquisitive crime not dissimilar to this,” Evans said.
“This offence was to be the largest burglary in English legal history. Two of these men had also been involved in some 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.”
Collins was involved in the planning, attending meetings before and after the burglary, Evans said. The 74-year-old scouted Hatton Garden before the burglary, was the lookout during the heist, and drove a van to and from the scene. When police raided his Islington home, they found “items including a large amount of cash, wrist watches, coins jewellery and a money counter”, he said.
Jones was “at the heart of the extensive planning” and had regular meetings on Friday nights in places including the Castle pub in Islington, the jury heard.
The 60-year-old buried some of the stolen goods in a cemetery in Edmonton, while items including face masks, a drill and cash were found at his property.
Evans said that, after entering the building housing the vault, the gang hit a snag. “Jones was at the burglary throughout and was instrumental in gaining access to the vault, and after the first night failure, he, with Collins, obtained further equipment to do so.”
Perkins visited Hatton Garden before the burglary and was present throughout the raid, Evans said.
A police raid of his home found “jewellery, cash, blue overalls, five pairs of white fabric gloves and a quantity of euros”.
Evans said of Reader: “He was involved in the planning, present at the meetings before and after the burglary. He was present in the building at Hatton Garden on the first night of the burglary but not the second. He does not appear to have owned his own mobile phone and may have used his son Paul Reader’s mobile to be in contact on occasions with his co-conspirators.”
When his property was searched, police seized a book on the diamond underworld, a diamond tester, a diamond gauge, diamond magazines, and a distinctive scarf which he can be seen wearing on CCTV footage from Hatton Garden on 2 and 3 April, Evans said.
Outlining the four men’s previous criminal history, Evans told the jury: “This is important for you to understand because it demonstrates that men with that level of experience, engaged in a crime of this complexity and severity, would only have involved those who could be fully trusted.”
Nearly £9m of the stolen valuables have not been recovered, the court was told. Evans said the best estimate was that the gang stole a total of £14m in valuables, having opened 73 safety deposit boxes, 29 of which were empty. The vault held a total of 996 boxes, of which more than 500 contained valuables.
The prosecutor said police had identified 40 people whose valuables were stolen and that the safe deposit boxes were predominantly used by local jewellery businesses as their “company safe”.
“All of the victims of this crime, the owners of the boxes, trade mainly in jewellery, loose precious stones and precious metals.”
While the lower value goods had been recovered, it appeared that higher value items and many loose precious stones had not.
A quantity of stolen bullion, including gold, platinum and other precious metal bars, ingots and coins, were still missing, Evans said.
“Furthermore, a large amount of cash was also taken from the safe deposit boxes. Cash has been recovered from some of the defendants, but it cannot be said whether a particular recovered note was taken in this raid as serial numbers were not kept.”
Earlier, Evans told the court that planning for the heist began in 2012.
“The police have been able to establish that this offence was a considerable time in its planning.“The police have been able to establish that this offence was a considerable time in its planning.
“By analysing the contents of the defendants’ computers it has been possible to say that as long ago as August 2012, one of the people involved was making searches on the internet for drills, and by May 2014 those searches had escalated to more meaningful searches for the specific drill which was used over the Easter weekend 2015 to drill through the vault wall. Also, by May 2014 on the computer there were YouTube clips found containing demonstrations of how to use it. “By analysing the contents of the defendants’ computers it has been possible to say that as long ago as August 2012, one of the people involved was making searches on the internet for drills, and by May 2014 those searches had escalated to more meaningful searches for the specific drill which was used over the Easter weekend 2015 to drill through the vault wall. Also, by May 2014 on the computer there were YouTube clips found containing demonstrations of how to use it.”
Evans told the jury of six men and six women: “The offence spanned much of the weekend in question. It is clear from the evidence that the enterprise was only partially successful on the first night, 2 April, and the burglars returned on 4 April with more new equipment to finish the job. Evans told the jury of six men and six women : “The offence spanned much of the weekend in question. It is clear from the evidence that the enterprise was only partially successful on the first night, 2 April, and the burglars returned on 4 April with more new equipment to finish the job.
“You will appreciate that a criminal enterprise of this size and undoubted ambition, not only involves an enormous amount of detailed planning but also a number of people, recruited to assist in various different ways. Some of those people may not actually have been at Hatton Garden over that weekend but despite that they played a role in the criminal enterprise.“You will appreciate that a criminal enterprise of this size and undoubted ambition, not only involves an enormous amount of detailed planning but also a number of people, recruited to assist in various different ways. Some of those people may not actually have been at Hatton Garden over that weekend but despite that they played a role in the criminal enterprise.
“These four defendants’ roles began at different times and in some cases finished at different times but none the less each of them played their part.” “These four defendants’ roles began at different times and in some cases finished at different times but nonetheless each of them played their part.”
Four people had already pleaded guilty to the burglary, the jury heard.
John Collins, 74, of Islington, north London; Daniel Jones, 58, and Terry Perkins, 67, both of Enfield, north London; and Brian Reader, 76, of Dartford, Kent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle with intent to steal jewellery.
The trial continues.The trial continues.