In April 2015, an underground safe deposit facility in Hatton Garden, London, owned by Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd., was burgled. According to official sources, the total stolen had an estimated value of up to £14 million (equivalent to £19 million in 2025), of which only £4.3 million (equivalent to £5.9 million in 2025) has been recovered. The burglars entered through a lift shaft over the Easter bank holiday weekend and used a Hilti DD350 industrial power drill to bore through the 50 cm (20 in) thick vault walls.
The heist was planned and carried out by six elderly men who were experienced thieves. All six were arrested, pleaded guilty and received prison sentences in March 2016. Four other men were also tried on suspicion of involvement; three were found guilty and sent to prison, whilst the fourth was cleared. The investigation was assigned to the Flying Squad, and the theft was described as the “largest burglary in English legal history”. The burglary has been the subject of several films and television dramatisations.
The burglars worked through the four-day weekend of the Easter bank holiday, when many of the nearby businesses (several of them also connected with Hatton Garden’s jewellery trade) were closed. There was no externally visible sign of a forced entry to the premises. It was reported that the burglars had entered the premises through a lift shaft, then drilled through the 50 cm (20 in) thick vault walls with a Hilti DD350 industrial power drill.
The police first announced that the facility had been burgled on 7 April, and reports based on CCTV footage (released by the Daily Mirror before the police released it) state that the attack on the facility commenced on Thursday 2 April. The video showed people nicknamed by the newspaper as “Mr Ginger, Mr Strong, Mr Montana, The Gent, The Tall Man and The Old Man”. On 22 April, the police released pictures of the inside of the vault showing damage caused by the burglary, and how the burglars had used holes drilled through the vault’s wall to bypass the main vault door.
The theft was so significant that the investigation was assigned to the Flying Squad, a branch of the Specialist, Organised & Economic Crime Command within London’s Metropolitan Police Service. On 8 April, press reports emerged speculating that a major underground fire in nearby Kingsway may have been started to create a diversion as part of the Hatton Garden burglary. The London Fire Brigade later stated that the fire had been caused by an electrical fault, with no sign of arson.
On 1 April 2015, electrical cables under the pavement in Kingsway caught fire, leading to serious disruption in central London including evacuations, power cuts to local residents, and the cancellation of several West End theatre performances. Flames shot from a manhole cover after a gas main burst, and the fire continued for two days before being extinguished. There was also substantial disruption to telecommunications infrastructure.
The burglary then proceeded as follows:
2 April 2015, 21:19 – Depository staff locked the doors for the Easter weekend
2 April 2015, 21:23 – “Mr Ginger” descended to the vault, followed by three men pulling wheelie bins
3 April 2015, 00:21 – Metropolitan Police were informed that the burglar alarm had been triggered, but did not respond
3 April 2015, 08:05 – Gang members talked before going to their van and driving away
4 April 2015, 21:17 – “Mr Ginger” went down into the vault, and was later joined by two other men
5 April 2015, 06:10 – The gang members drove away
7 April 2015 – Scotland Yard learnt that a burglary had taken place
10 April 2015 – The Daily Mirror released CCTV footage
19 May 2015 – The Metropolitan Police announced that they had arrested nine suspects
1 September 2015 – Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company went into liquidation
28 March 2018 – Another man was arrested