Six elderly men orchestrated the largest burglary in English legal history

Countries & Cities · Published 9 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: During the 2015 Easter bank holiday, a group of experienced, older thieves bypassed a high-security vault in London's Hatton Garden. Using an industrial power drill to bore through 50 cm of reinforced wall, they executed a heist so significant it required the specialized Flying Squad to investigate.

The heist targeted the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd. facility in London. The burglars gained entry through a lift shaft, avoiding any externally visible signs of forced entry. After entering, they used a Hilti DD350 industrial power drill to penetrate the 50 cm (20 in) thick vault walls, avoiding the primary vault door. The perpetrators entered the premises via a lift shaft. They successfully bypassed the main vault door by drilling through the side.

The scale of the theft was immense. Officials estimated the total value of the stolen goods at up to £14 million, a figure equivalent to £19 million in 2025. Despite the massive scale of the crime, recovery efforts have been limited; only £4.3 million, or approximately £5.9 million in 2025 value, has been recovered so far. The stolen assets were valued at roughly £14 million. Only a fraction of this amount has been successfully retrieved.

The investigation, handled by the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad, led to the arrest of several individuals. Among them was 76-year-old Brian Reader, a man previously linked to the Brink’s-Mat robbery. The group included six experienced, elderly men who were eventually sentenced in March 2016. This case is a milestone in British crime, frequently cited as England's biggest burglary in legal history. The Flying Squad led the investigation into the crime. One suspect, Brian Reader, was previously associated with the Brink's-Mat heist.

The robbery caused substantial urban disruption. While some speculated that a major underground fire in nearby Kingsway was a diversion, the London Fire Brigade confirmed the fire was caused by an electrical fault. The fire, which lasted two days, caused power cuts and disrupted telecommunications and West End theatre performances. An electrical fault caused a fire in Kingsway. This blaze resulted in power outages and interrupted local theatre shows.

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