Fifth suspect in court on £50m Tamara raid

A SUSPECT in an ‘astronomical’ £50million burglary of Tamara Ecclestone’s Kensington home appeared in court yesterday.

Alessandro Maltese, 44, was arrested in Italy after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad.

He was flown to Britain on Thursday afternoon and brought before Westminster magistrates.

A valuable pair of diamond earrings and a Louis Vuitton bag were among a haul of currency, jewellery and watches stolen from the £70million mansion while Miss Ecclestone, daughter of Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, was on holiday last December.

Miss Ecclestone was said to have been left ‘shaken’ by the raid of hidden safes at the 55-room property near London’s Hyde Park, where her neighbours include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and the Sultan of Brunei.

Maltese is charged with conspiracy to commit a series of burglaries between November 30 last year and February 1 this year, including the break-in at the heiress’s home on December 13.

Prosecutor Jennifer Gatland said: ‘The Crown’s case is that the defendant is a member of an international organised crime group who in December 2019 entered the UK and committed a series of high-value burglaries in Kensington.

‘The complainants often being celebrities including high-profile names such as Tamara Ecclestone. This is part of a sophisticated organised crime group. The values involved are astronomical.’

Maltese, wearing a maroon sweatshirt, used an Italian interpreter during the brief hearing.

He was not asked to enter a plea, did not apply for bail and was remanded into custody to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on November 13.

Four other suspects are also facing trial over the burglaries.