A Dartford man has pleaded guilty to involvement in the £10m Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
Brian Reader, 76, of Dartford Road admitted conspiracy to burgle, namely to enter Hatton Garden Safe Deposit in London with intent to steal, between January 1 and April 7.
Brian Reader
Reader entered a guilty plea alongside three other men John Collins, 74, of Blestoe Walk, Islington, north London; Daniel Jones, 58, of Park Avenue, Enfield, north London and Terry Perkins, 67, of Heene Road, Enfield, north London at Woolwich Crown Court today (September 4).
The safety deposit box following the heist
All four men also faced a charge of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property, namely a quantity of jewellery and other items between April 1 and May 19, but in light of their guilty pleas in relation to the conspiracy to burgle, Philip Evans, prosecuting, said the Crown would not be pursuing the charge.
Brian Reader in his younger days
The men will be sentenced at a date to be confirmed.
Hugh Doyle, 48, of Riverside Gardens, Enfield, north London, William Lincoln, 60, of Winkley Street, Bethnal Green, east London and taxi driver John Harbinson, 42, of Beresford Gardens, Benfleet, Essex, denied conspiracy.
They also pleaded not guilty to the laundering offence and are due to stand trial on November 16 this year.
Reader's son, Paul, 50, also from Dartford Road, and Carl Wood, 58, of Elderbeck Close, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, are yet to enter pleas.
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All nine men appeared in custody and were accompanied in the dock by 13 security guards.
The raid over the Easter weekend saw thieves break into the vault in London's diamond district, after using a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the vault wall.
Officers believe they got into the building, which houses a number of businesses, through a communal entrance before disabling the lift so they could climb down the shaft to the basement.
Once inside, the thieves ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes.
More to follow.
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