A mastermind criminal behind the ‘Heist of the Century’ died in secret last year – taking the mystery of stolen goods worth £9million to the grave with him.
Brian Reader served three years in prison for his part in the notorious Hatton Garden raid over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend in 2015. He was freed on health grounds in 2018, and died aged 84 on September 2 last year after suffering a series of strokes and succumbing to colon and prostate cancer.
Close friends and family of the south Londoner sought to keep his death a closely-guarded secret, but a source revealed he spent his final months at home in Dartford, Kent. The source explained: "Brian was not a well man in his final years, and he was able to slip away peacefully at home. It was one of his final wishes that he could spend his last months at home in Dartford, which was where he died.
"For some reason, his family and the criminal fraternity have been desperate to keep his death a secret. They did not want it reported on and didn't want any fuss around the time of the death and the funeral. But it has all now been dealt with privately. Nobody wanted to cross them by revealing the secret – but it was bound to come out in the fullness of time."
Speaking on Reader's death, former Met Police Detective Peter Bleksley said: "I will shed no tears for the loss of Brian Reader. All this stuff about being a 'gentleman thief' is a complete nonsense. Reader, Noye and other south London gangsters of that era were the most unpleasant criminals imaginable. A lot of detectives and ex-detectives will feel no sadness at his passing."
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The Hatton Garden raid was considered the largest burglary in English legal history (PA)Born in Southwark in February 1939, just before the start of World War 2, it wasn’t long before Reader was swept into a life of crime. He first appeared in court aged 11 in 1950, receiving a criminal discharge for stealing from five shops. In the years following, he was associated with crimes involving theft, murder, and planned heists.
The Hatton Garden raid, considered the largest burglary in English legal history, has been shrouded in mystery since only £4.3 million of the £14 million worth of stolen goods were ever recovered. Further theories surrounding the heist have emerged since, including one that suggests Reader quit mid-job.
Theory #1 - Finding the Brink's-Mat gold
Insiders say Reader became obsessed with tracking down the missing Brink's-Mat gold that he had handled in the 1983 bank robbery, which saw £26 million worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash stolen. With half of the gold still missing, Reader is thought to have been convinced it was hidden by a Hatton Garden diamond dealer at the safety deposit box centre.
A former associate explained: "Brian was desperate to find the gold and the word is that he managed to find out which boxes the gold was hidden in. He did know every inch of Hatton Garden, after all. It had always been his manor and his contacts there were formidable. But for some reason, his family and the criminal fraternity have been desperate to keep his death a secret. There was nothing that happened in Hatton Garden without him knowing about it.
Only £4.3 million of the £14 million worth of stolen goods were ever recovered (PA)Theory #2 - It was something else
Another theory suggests that Reader could have been after something else, like rare jewellery, instead of the gold. The associate continued: "The suspicion is that on the raid itself he knew all along exactly what boxes he wanted to break into, and only went back again after the initial break-in to muddy the waters and disguise the true target."
Heist-members had kept an eye on the building for months, studying its CCTV operation before breaking in over the Easter bank holiday dressed like construction workers to blend in with Crossrail crew.
Theory #3 - Reader quit the gang mid-job
Reader is thought to have not returned on the second night of the heist, while the others - Perkins, Jones, Collins and 'Basil' – did. In 2015, a prosecutor said Reader was "nowhere to be seen" on the night two and had supposedly quit the heist despite playing a huge role in its plannning. A Met spokesperson said police recovered "£4,467,566.74" of the £14m worth of stolen goods.
While the specific value of missing items haven't been made public, there have been hints on what these items include. Police already recovered Cartier watches, loose gems, large wads of cash and jewellery. In 2017, a woman claimed to Sky News she had £7m in gold still missing from the lock boxes. Prosecutor Philip Evans QC said during the trial in 2018: "Somewhere in the world is £5.7 million worth of stolen jewellery."
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