Hatton Garden men ‘raided jeweller’
TWO of the men behind the Hatton Garden heist used similar tactics during a daring raid on luxury London jewellers five years earlier, a court has heard.
Terry Perkins, 68, and Daniel Jones, 59, who were described as “premierleague criminals”, posed as workmen when they broke into Chatila jewellers in Mayfair over the August bank holiday in 2010. It is alleged that after gaining access to the building they attempted to drill into a safe which contained more than £40million-worth of jewellery.
Their bid was unsuccessful but they did manage to get into the showroom where they allegedly stole £1 million in precious stones and jewellery, the jury was told.
Perkins, from Enfield, denies one count of burglary, while Jones, also from Enfield, pleaded guilty to his role at an earlier hearing ahead of the trial, the jury was told.
A third man, Charles Matthews, 54, of Virginia Water, Surrey, is also on trial accused of handling stolen goods. He denies the charge.
Perkins and Jones were two of those who carried out “one of the biggest burglaries in English history” when they stole at least £14 million worth of goods from boxes in the basement vault of Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company between April 3 and 5 2015, the court heard.
Both pleaded guilty to their part in the Hatton Garden plot, which prosecutor Philip Evans QC said bore “striking” similarities to the burglary at Chatila. This included the targeting of a highly secure premises over a bank holiday weekend and the use of highvisibility clothing as a distraction.
Opening the case for the prosecution at Southwark Crown Court, he said: “Those similarities, say the prosecu- tion, are not simply explained by coincidence, but because Perkins and Jones were involved in both.”
It is alleged entry was gained to the communal lobby next to the Chatila store through the front door, using a key or key code. The lift doors on the ground floor were forced open and two ladders used to gain access down the lift shaft to the basement, the court heard.
A hole was then made in the wall of the lift shaft to allow access to the rest of the basement, where a door was breached so the men could climb the stairs up to the ground floor of Chatila, Mr Evans said.
An attempt to breach a safe in the rear office, where jewellery was kept over holidays, failed but cabinets in the main showroom were forced open.
The court heard how police covertly recorded Perkins and Jones in a car in May 2015 following the Hatton Garden burglary, and heard them describe an earlier raid. The trial continues.