The mastermind behind the Hatton Garden heist, who reportedly made £200 million from the robbery, passes away at the age of 84 after battling cancer
Brian Reader died at the age of 84 during autumn of last year from cancer, according to his death certificate, despite his family and associates trying to keep his death a secret
The mastermind of the Hatton Garden heist, Brian ’The Guvnor’ Reader, has died at age 84, it’s been revealed.
His family and and associates of tried to keep his death secret but a death certificate, listing his profession as a retired gardener showed that he died in September 2023 at his home in Dartford, Kent after a battling with colon and prostate cancer.
When Reader was 32 he was among a gang of master burglars dubbed the Millionaire Moles, who tunnelled 40 feet into a Central London bank vault in 1971, escaping with £3million in loot (around £53million today). It was one of many high-value burglaries that Reader pulled off, though.
Brian Reader, a member of the Hatton Garden jewellery raid gang ( Image: PA)
He has been involved in raids totalling £200million, including the London’s infamous Hatton Garden heist in 2015 where £14million was stolen. The gang, led by Reader, then 76, broke into the vault of London’s Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company over the Easter weekend.
Brian Reader was Britain’s most prolific thief ( Image: PA)
On the first night, they entered the building, disabled the lift, climbed down the shaft to the basement, disabled the alarm and drilled three holes through half-a-metre thick concrete. After the ten-tonne jack they were using to topple metal shelving on the other side of the hole broke, the gang returned two nights later – without Reader – to complete the raid.
But six of them were caught the following month after one of their vehicles was spotted on CCTV by police. Reader, Terry Perkins, then aged 67, John “Kenny” Collins, 75, Danny Jones, 60, Carl Wood, 58 and William “Billy the Fish” Lincoln, 60 – were jailed for up to seven years each in March 2016 for conspiracy to commit burglary.
The holes drilled to gain access to the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit, in Hatton Garden, London ( Image: PA)
The final gang member Michael “Basil” Seed, 58, was arrested in 2018 and jailed in March for 10 years. Also during the same year, Perkins died of a heart attack in prison after being told to pay back more than £6million from the burglary.
Reader was released from Belmarsh Prison in July 2018 after serving barely half of his sentence. His release sparked anger that he was not made to serve longer in jail due to the theft of millions of valuables, including gold, diamonds and sapphires.
The eight men accused of the Hatton Garden heist, including Reader, appear in the dock at Westminster Magistrates Court ( Image: Priscilla Coleman/MB Media)
In 2020, he avoided having to return to prison for failing to repay his share from the audacious raid. Reader, then 81, has been found by a judge to be too unwell to be jailed for only handing over 6% of his £6.6million share.
The CPS said at the time: “After careful consideration, the judge decided Reader would not return to prison for failing to pay his confiscation order. We remain committed to recovering the balance Reader and his accomplices owe and will continue to pursue this using all lawful means.”
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