The Hatton Garden Jewellery Quarter in London became the scene of one of the biggest heists in British history when, during the Easter weekend of 2015, elderly raiders ransacked an underground safe deposit facility. High-duty drills were used to tunnel into the vault, boring through 7ft thick walls to crack open 73 boxes containing millions of pounds of jewels and precious metals, including diamonds, sapphires, and gold.
The men responsible, all experienced thieves doing “one last job,” were eventually caught and pleaded guilty to the crime. Most of the gang, who had become known as the “diamond wheezers” due to their average age being 63, were put on trial in 2016. It was later revealed the grey-haired robbers had a combined age of 448.
Brian Reader, known as ‘The Master,’ was born on February 28, 1939, and was 76 at the time of the Hatton Garden robbery. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit burglary and was locked up for six years and three months for his part. Reader was released from jail in July 2018 after serving just over three years due to health issues, including prostate cancer and a series of strokes.
In April 2023, it was revealed that Reader had sold three of his estates for £2.5 million. He faced a further seven-year term if he could not pay a £6.5 million confiscation order imposed on him and three other ringleaders. Due to his health, he received a sentence seven months shorter than his fellow Hatton Garden ringleaders. On April 23, 2024, it was revealed that he had passed away aged 84.
Michael Seed, known as ‘Basil,’ is thought to have been the ringleader of the gang. He was 54 at the time of the robbery and managed to evade being caught for three years despite living in a council house less than two miles away from the scene of the crime. Seed was eventually caught in 2018 and became the tenth person to be convicted in connection with the heist in March 2019 when he was sentenced to ten years in prison.
John Collins, known as Kenny, was 74 at the time of the heist. He was sentenced to seven years for his part in the raid but was released from jail in late 2018 after serving half of his sentence. Collins served as the lookout and getaway driver for the gang and was described in court as “instrumental in gaining access to the vault,” visiting the area many times to assess its weaknesses. He also purchased the extra equipment needed to drill through the wall of the vault. Some of the gold stolen from the London heist was even hidden in his wheelie bins.
Daniel Jones from Enfield was jailed for seven years for his part in the Hatton Garden raid. He climbed through the hole bored in the wall with Basil to break into the boxes. While in custody, awaiting trial, Jones claimed he wanted to “come clean” and give back his share of the robbery. He wrote a letter to the media offering to show police where he had hidden it but only showed them a small portion of his stash when escorted to Edmonton Cemetery in north London. He lied under direct questioning when asked if he knew about any more loot buried nearby, which the police had already found.
Terry Perkins died in prison in February 2018 of natural causes, aged 69. He died just one week after being ordered to repay around £6.5 million in missing cash. Perkins had previously had a heart attack in Belmarsh Prison and was fitted with a defibrillator at London’s St Thomas’ Hospital.
Carl Wood from Cheshunt was handed a six-year prison sentence for his part. He suffers from Crohn’s disease and lives on disability allowance. Wood is thought to have become involved in the job as he was in debt. However, he pulled out of the heist on the second night when he found the fire escape door was closed. Wood’s friend Jones subsequently refused to give him any of the spoils, and no loot was found at his house.
William Lincoln, known as ‘Billy the Fish,’ was given a seven-year stretch for acting as the gang’s getaway driver. Lincoln got his nickname because he used to visit Billingsgate Fish Market on Fridays. He was arrested on May 19, 2015, while driving his black Audi A3. The arresting officers found a torn-up, handwritten note on the floor beside him giving the address of the Wheatsheaf pub, where some of the loot was handled.
Hugh Doyle was a gas fitter who was found guilty of conspiracy to conceal, convert, or transfer criminal property and given a suspended prison sentence. There was no evidence he ever went to Hatton Garden, and his role was to provide an exchange point for the final handover of loot outside his business premises.
Jon Harbinson was cleared of all charges. He was accused of storing much of the stolen jewelry, gems, and gold before returning it to the gang to be split up.
Despite the efforts of law enforcement, most of the gems stolen during the Hatton Garden heist have still not been recovered. It is feared that they have been leaked onto the black market and sold abroad. The value of the loot was re-valued at £29 million in 20197. The OAP raiders, with a combined age of 442, were previously collectively ordered to pay back £8.2 million. Reader is the second Hatton Garden robber to die after Terry Perkins passed away in prison in 2018.
