Old-School London Criminal Gents

• By the early spring of 2015, Brian Reader, a veteran career criminal had spent three years planning “one last job”.

• He was part of the Baker Street Robbery in 1971 — this gained him connections.

• He then recruited — Danny Jones, Terry Parkins, and Johny Collins.

• Being a part of the 1971 Baker Street Robbery, Reader had the connections. He enlisted his friends Danny Jones, 60, Terry Perkins, 67, and John "Kenny" Collins, 74.

• Due to the Easter and Passover holidays falling on the same weekend in April 2015, the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company was scheduled to close its doors on Thursday night and not reopen until the following Tuesday.

• The entire neighborhood, known as London's jewelry quarter, was supposed to be empty for the long weekend.

Without a Hitch

• At around 8:20 p.m., the last member of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company staff left the premises. Five minutes later, surveillance footage showed a gang using a lift shaft to descend into the vault.

• They were led by a man who the media dubbed "Mr. Ginger" due to the red hair that was visible beneath his cap, but the gang members called him "Basil."

  • Each of the three other suspects was pushing a sizable commercial wheelie bin, showing that the robbers expected to make off with a sizable haul. No one saw the footage.

• The alarm also notified the company responsible for maintaining the vault's security.

  • They made a call to Alok Bavishi, the temporary manager and son of the joint director of the safe deposit facility.

  • Despite being misinformed that the police were already on the scene, Bavishi called a security guard to look around the building.

  • However, the guard discovered nothing wrong when he peered through the front door, which was fortunate for the gang given that lookout Collins had dozed off while he was on duty.

• In the interim, Basil and his companions visited the vault twice. At 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, they had looted $14 million from 72 boxes by the time they had left the area.

Tracking them down

• However, the gang unintentionally left a digital trace.

• They had made several unsuccessful attempts to turn off the alarms and security cameras for the vault.

• The gang's careless cell phone usage also gave the police some leads. It was discovered through the use of phone records and vehicle tracking information that Perkins, Collins, and Jones, three members of the same gang, met frequently to plan the raid at the Castle pub in Islington, north London.

• Later, they were caught on camera by police undercover agents bragging about breaking into the vault in the Castle pub.

Mystery mastermind

• In the end, seven men were detained and found guilty of the Hatton Garden robbery, but Basil evaded capture.

• Danny Jones testified that Basil, an ex-policeman, was responsible for planning the raid.

• Basil, who was undoubtedly the group's most responsible member, had taken care to cover his face with a bag as he entered the waiting van.

• He is thought to have been the inside man who entered the building using a set of keys to get past multiple layers of security. Basil went missing, along with valuable jewelry, gold, and gems valued at more than £10 million.

One Last Job

• The men accused of the Hatton Garden heist were a source of amusement for the British press and general public due to their advanced age.

• The knowledge that Terry Perkins had packed his diabetes medication, lookout Kenny Collins had dozed off while on duty, and Reader had used a senior citizen's bus pass to travel to Hatton Garden all had a certain charm to them.

• The gang members appeared to be anyone's grandfathers at first glance. However, a lot of them were dangerous career criminals united by friendship, a common skill set, and a desire to relive exciting experiences from the past.

• Reader had developed a "safety-first" mentality over many years to stay one step ahead of the law. When things got "hot," he abandoned risky robberies and took lengthy breaks.

• Finally, however, it appears that he was powerless to resist the prestige and allure of this opportunity, forgoing his tried-and-true strategy for one last job.

Related Crime

• On September 11, 1971, safe deposit boxes at the Lloyds Bank branch on Baker Street in London are broken into by burglars, including Brian Reader, who steal an estimated £3 million.

• On July 12, 1987, at the London Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Center, thieves pretend to be clients in order to gain entry. They then hold up employees and flee with around £60 million in cash and jewelry.

• On February 4-5, 2016, hackers attempted to steal £673 million from Bangladesh's central bank using computers.