Hatton Garden Heist An Inside Job?

The £14 million jewellery heist in Hatton Garden must have been an inside job, a court was told.

15:57 03 December 2015

Eight men are accused of stealing £14million worth of jewelleries from Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company by drilling into a concrete vault over the Easter weekend this year. It is by far the biggest burglary in British legal history.

 

Kelvin Stockwell, the security guard who worked in the building for more than 20 years, testified in court and agreed that it could have been an inside job.

 

Nick Corsellis, the lawyer of one of the accused, said: "I do not in any way seek to discredit you or cast any aspersions towards you, you do understand.

 

"But it is plain to you, is it not, having worked there for as many years as you have, appreciating the complexities of the security system, where things are located, how things were bypassed, what area of the vault was drilled into, that the people who were involved in this crime must have had detailed inside information to commit this crime. Do you agree?"

 

Mr Stockwell nodded in agreement.

 

In his testimony, Mr Stockwell told the court that he received a call in the early hours of April 3 from the son of the building's owner, Alok Bavishi, telling him that the alarm had been activated.

 

"He said the alarm system was sounding and going, he said the police were attending."

 

Mr Stockwell then went on to check the building to find no police on site.

 

"I saw a couple, a young boy and his girlfriend, that's all I saw.

 

"I went to the front of the building and pushed against the front doors, they were secure. I went around into Greville Street to check the fire exit and I looked through the letterbox."

 

"I called Alok, he said he was about five minutes away in the car. I told him the place was secure, he said 'go home'."

 

The burglary was discovered on April 7 when the employees returned to work.

 

Mr Stockwell continued: "I looked and there was a lock on the door and that had been popped, there was a hole through the wall and I saw that we had been burgled.

 

"On the floor there was drills, cutting material, the lights were on and the second floor (lift) barriers were left open.

 

"I went into the yard to get a signal and dialled 999."