Bulmers family ‘snared thieves who raided home’
Fake advert in antiques magazine six years later results in 11 men in the dock for £2m art heist
THE family behind Bulmers cider tracked down a pair of alleged art thieves who burgled their home by posting a fake advert in an antiques magazine six years after the crime, a court has heard.
Millions of pounds of artworks and antiques were stolen from the home of Esmond and Susie Bulmer, members of the Bulmers cider family, in Bruton, Somerset in 2009.
But it was not until a fake advert was placed in an antiques magazine in 2015 that the perpetrators were found.
Bristol Crown Court heard that bur- glars with intimate knowledge of the property, known as the Pavilions, ransacked it on the evening of March 20 whilst the couple were on holiday.
Following the raid, insurance firm Hiscox paid the Bulmers a “substantial amount” of money, but both the couple and the company wished to recover the paintings, estimated to be worth up to £2 million.
In December 2009, a man called Richard Ellis became involved in tracking down the artworks for the family.
With the assistance of him and the Bulmer family, an advert was placed in the Antiques Trade Gazette in February 2015 offering a £50,000 reward for the paintings. It was at this time Jonathan Rees came forward, claiming to be a “go between” to secure the reward, stating he had “EX-SAS members” who would recover the artworks, the court heard.
He is accused of persuading Hiscox to increase the reward to £175,000 and personally returning the paintings to a secure location in Bermondsey, south London, in August 2015.
Hiscox allegedly paid the money into an account for a company called Lois Jewellery. It was then distributed among those involved in the burglary, it is claimed.
Following the break-in, 11 people are on trial, but they are not believed to be the only people involved in the robbery.
It is believed that the family were investing a lot of money in their property at the time leading up to the burglary. Two of the defendants, Liam Judge and Matthew Evans, were builders who worked on the site and allegedly planted the seed that it was a “very soft and lucrative target”.
The alleged group of burglars targeted the house whilst the Bulmers were on holiday. However, they had hired Deborah Barnjum to housesit and look after Echo, the family dog.
Stephen Mooney, prosecuting, said Ms Barnjum secured the house on the evening of March 20 and had a bath before letting Echo out at about 10pm. “As she did so she saw three shadowy figures in the doorway as if waiting for this very moment,” he told the jury.
They tied her up and placed a blanket over her head. The group then spent 45 minutes going through the house, selecting items to take with them – including one of Mr Bulmer’s cars.
The paintings were allegedly taken to Birmingham and stored in the garage of Thomas Lynch. They remained there until 2015, jurors heard.
Skinder Ali, 39, Liam Judge, 42, and Matthew Evans, 41, deny conspiracy to commit burglary. Ali and Mark Regan, 46, Thomas Lynch, 43, Donald Maliska, 63, David Price, 53, and Ike Obiamiwe, 55, deny conspiracy to handle stolen goods, namely 15 paintings.
Maliska, Price, Obiamiwe and Jonathan Rees, 62, deny conspiracy to defraud James Esmond Bulmer and Hiscox Insurance. Nigel Blackburn, 60, and Azhar Mir, 65, deny entering into or becoming concerned in a moneylaundering arrangement. Rees denies doing acts intended to pervert the course of justice. The trial continues.
‘She saw three shadowy figures in the doorway as if waiting for this very moment’