The Hatton Garden raid which saw jewellery and valuables worth an estimated £14 million stolen from a London vault was the “largest burglary in English legal history”, a court has heard.
A gang of thieves carried out the “sophisticated” and meticulously planned break-in over Easter weekend using a drill to bore a hole 20in (51cm) deep, 10in (25cm) high and 18in (46cm) into a wall in the city’s jewellery quarter.
The thieves then ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes.
“Ringleaders” John “Kenny” Collins (75), Daniel Jones (58), Terry Perkins (67), and Brian Reader (76) have all already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit.
Four other men are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court in south east London, accused of being involved in the raid.
They are: Carl Wood (58), of Elderbeck Close, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; William Lincoln (60), of Winkley Street, Bethnal Green, London; and Jon Harbinson (42), of Beresford Gardens, Benfleet, Essex.
They face the same charge of conspiracy to commit burglary between May 17th 2014 and 7.30am on April 5th this year.
A fourth man, Hugh Doyle (48), of Riverside Gardens, Enfield, London, is jointly charged with them on one count of conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property between January 1st and May 19th of this year.
Prosecutor Philip Evans, told the jury “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.
Deal of experience
Referring to the four men who have pleaded guilty to their involvement, Mr Evans said: “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.
“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.”
Mr Evans said the men involved had a level of experience so high that they would only have involved people who could be fully trusted in “a crime of this complexity and severity”.
As well as being shown photos of the “ringleaders”, jurors also saw pictures of some of the watches and jewellery discovered at their homes after the raid.
A book called “Forensics For Dummies” was found at Jones’s house.
Jurors were told that Collins, known to his co-conspirators as “Kenny”, acted as the “lookout” on the night of the burglary and drove the van to and from the scene.
He allegedly recruited Lincoln and Harbinson. It is further alleged that Collins recruited Doyle.
The jury heard that Jones was “instrumental in gaining access to the vault”.
After the gang’s failure on the first night, he and Collins were the ones who set about getting hold of the equipment they needed.
When Perkins’ home was searched, police found jewellery, cash, blue overalls, five pairs of white fabric gloves and a quantity of euro banknotes.
Jurors heard that the other men referred to Reader as the “Governor” or the “Master”, and that he had been heavily involved in the planning of the burglary.
Searches of his home revealed a book on the diamond underworld, a diamond tester, a diamond gauge, diamond magazines, and a distinctive scarf which he was seen wearing on CCTV at Hatton Garden on the night of April 2nd.
Although present on the first night of the burglary, Reader did not return for the second, jurors heard.
The court heard that investigations revealed the burglary had been planned - often in the Castle pub in Islington - for a considerable time.
PA