The Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Box Ltd was raided over Easter weekend. Thieves are believed to have broken in through the roof before rappelling down the elevator shaft in order to reach the safe deposit boxes located in the basement of the building. Scotland Yard is yet to disclose any details of the boxes, but reports suggest as many as 70 boxes were drilled into and had valuables stolen. Roy Ramm, a former member of Flying Squad believes robbers might have made off with as much as £200 million.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the robbery however, is the fact that it is not the first time the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Box location has been the subject of a robbery.
In 1975, armed robbers entered the location in broad daylight and threatened the staff and customers present. They proceeded to walk out of the building having secured a take in the region of £1.5 million in diamonds, gems, cash and several other valuables.
A similar episode took place in 2003, when again the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Box was targeted. This time by a criminal who entered the vault where the boxes are located posing as a customer. He went on to open several boxes and again, came away with a take estimated to be £1.5 million.
It is hard to believe the company has now been hit for third time, unfortunately for its customers, it would appear that the latest heist may well be the largest.
This given the level of planning that seems to have gone into it, and the amount of time the thieves may have had at their disposal. Scotland Yard was only alerted to the crime on Tuesday morning due to the Easter weekend celebrations, meaning the robbers had four days to loot the boxes.
