Man accused of £13.7m burglary ‘let himself in with key’ jury told

HATTON GARDEN burglar “Basil” is believed to have had a key which he used to let himself in through the front door of the building, a court has heard.

Michael Seed, 58, is alleged to have been the man caught on CCTV wearing a blue suit, white gloves, and disguised with a wig, face mask and earphones, as he walked to 88-90 Hatton Garden on the night of April 2, 2015.

Footage shown at Woolwich Crown Court shows how Seed allegedly carried a black binbag, which he switched from shoulder to shoulder, obscuring his face, as he passed the cameras.

Describing the images to jurors, Detective Sergeant Jamie Day said: “He pauses on the corner, takes something from his pocket and goes around the corner into Hatton Garden.”

Asked how the man nicknamed Basil got through the front door, DS Day said: “I would suggest either by a key or had access some other way.”

An estimated £13.7m of gold, cash and gems was looted from 73 safe deposit boxes after a hole was drilled through the vault wall over the 2015 Easter bank holiday weekend. The court has heard five of the six men who were physically present at Hatton Garden have been convicted of conspiring to carry out the burglary.

Police raided Seed’s one-bedroom council flat in Islington, on March 27 last year – three years after the heist in London’s diamond district, two miles away.

The probe into the heist revealed some of the same men had committed a “strikingly similar” burglary in August 2010 at Chatila jewellery store in Bond Street, the court heard. Seed denies two charges of conspiracy to commit burglary and one charge of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.