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In April 2015, the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden area, was burgled. The total stolen may have a value of up to £200 million, the incident has been called the "largest burglary in English legal history."
Contents
The heist was planned and carried out by four elderly men who were experienced thieves, all of whom pleaded guilty and received prison sentences in March 2016. Four other men were also tried on suspicion of involvement; three were found guilty and sent to prison, while the fourth was cleared.
Burglary
The burglary occurred during a period in which both the Easter Bank Holiday and Passover coincided. The police first announced that the facility had been burgled on 7 April, and reports based on CCTV footage state that the attack on the facility commenced on 2 April. The theft was so significant that the investigation was assigned to the Flying Squad, a branch of the Specialist, Organised & Economic Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service.
There was no externally visible sign of a forced entry to the premises. It was reported that the burglars had entered the premises through a lift shaft, then drilled through the 50 cm thick vault walls with a Hilti DD350 industrial power drill.
On 8 April, press reports emerged speculating that a major underground fire in nearby Kingsway may have been started to create a diversion as part of the Hatton Garden burglary. The London Fire Brigade later stated that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault, with no sign of arson.
A CCTV recording of the incident was released by the Daily Mirror before the police released it. The video showed people nicknamed by the newspaper as "Mr Ginger, Mr Strong, Mr Montana, The Gent, The Tall Man and The Old Man".
On 22 April, the police released pictures of the inside of the vault showing damage caused by the burglary, and how the burglars had used holes drilled through the vault's wall to bypass the main vault door.
On 19 May, the Metropolitan Police announced that nine arrests had been made in connection with their investigation into the raid.
On 1 September 2015, it was announced that the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company had gone into liquidation as the business had become insolvent because "trade dried up" as a result of the robbery.
Timeline
On 1 April 2015, electrical cables under the pavement in Kingsway caught fire, leading to serious disruption in central London. The fire continued for the next two days, with flames shooting out of a manhole cover from a burst gas main, before being extinguished. Several thousand people were evacuated from nearby offices, and several West End theatres cancelled performances. There was also substantial disruption to telecoms infrastructure. On 8 April, press reports emerged stating that the fire may have been started as part of the burglary.
Arrests
On 19 May 2015, 76-year-old Brian Reader, who was previously involved in laundering the proceeds of the Brink's-Mat robbery, and his 50-year-old son Brian Jr. were arrested in connection with the robbery by Flying Squad officers.
In November 2015, Carl Wood, William Lincoln, Jon Harbinson and Hugh Doyle were all charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property. The theft was described as the "largest burglary in English legal history."
Sentencing
On 9 March 2016, at Woolwich Crown Court, three members of the gang, John "Kenny" Collins, Daniel Jones and Terry Perkins, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and were each given a seven-year prison term.
Carl Wood and William Lincoln were found guilty of the same offence and also one count of conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, after trial. Lincoln was also given a seven-year sentence, and Wood was jailed for six years.
Hugh Doyle was found guilty of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property. He was jailed for 21 months, suspended for two years.
Finally, the ringleader, Brian Reader, was sentenced to six years and three months in jail on 21 March 2016.
The eighth man, Jon Harbinson, was found not guilty and discharged.
In television and film
The heist was one of the main features of the American investigative science web-TV series, White Rabbit Project, released on 9 December 2016. The programme sees the presenters investigate and demonstrate the methods used in the heist as well as featuring dramatised re-enactments. It is featured in series one, episode five, "Heist!". The Heist was also the subject of the 2016 film "Hatton Garden the Heist!"