Who is ‘Basil’, the mystery man behind Britain’s biggest ever burglary?

HE was the ringleader in the biggest heist in British history. But where is the man dubbed Basil —and where are the millions of dollars of jewels?

HE is thought to be the “inside man” who helped pull off a daring heist that has been dubbed the real-life Ocean’s Eleven. But where is ‘Basil’ and, more importantly, where are the £10 million worth of missing jewels?

Scotland Yard detectives have been hunting for Basil since the Easter raid on safe deposits at Hatton Gardens Safety Deposit Centre last year, when £14 million worth of jewellery, gems and gold were taken.

The raid made world headlines, not only because of the sheer audacity of it, but because the combined age of the accused was 444 years, earning them the nickname ‘Dad’s Army’, reports London’s Daily Telegraph.

Hatton Garden Safety Deposit is well known for its anonymity, discretion and supposedly, its security.

Three of ‘Basil’s’ accomplices have been convicted of the role they played in the heist.

Carl Wood, 58, William Lincoln, 60, were convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to launder the proceeds, while plumber Hugh Doyle, 48, was found guilty of one count of laundering.

‘Basil’ the mastermind of the Hatton Garden heist. Picture: Sky News

Terry Perkins (left) and John Collins.

Daniel Jones (left) and Brian Reader.

One of the suspects seen on CCTV

The vault door at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company.

Four others have also been convicted for the robbery. Brian Reader, 76, Terry Perkins, 67, Daniel Johns, 60, John Collins, 75 all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary when they faced court in September.

Basil himself though remains out of reach of Scotland Yard detectives, who have now been forced to publicly admit they have no idea where he is.

One suggestion is he has already fled the UK with the majority of the loot.

There are few clues as to who Basil really is beyond his distinctive red hair. In scenes that could have been plucked straight from Hollywood, he let himself into Hatton Gardens with a key and slipped past several layers of security.

The ease of entry immediately raised suspicions he was in some way connected to the company.

Another possibility is he was one of a small number of potential customers who were shown around the vault in the year before the raid by a guard who didn’t follow procedure and record their details, reports Sky News.

That information would have given ‘Basil’ the chance to look at the vault and ask about its security systems.

Once inside, he let the rest of the thieves into the basement and then and it was Basil and Jones who crawled through a narrow hole in the vault wall.

Some of the jewels recovered from the robbery.

Some of the hidden items that were discovered by police.

Of 999 safe deposit boxes inside, they made off with the contents of 73 of them.

Throughout all of this Basil was conscious of the cameras watching them and carefully hid his face from CCTV

And it wasn’t just during the raid he was careful. In the weeks that followed he kept his guard up — and that has helped him to so far evade capture.

Basil always carried a bag on his shoulder to cover his face. He also wore no distinctive clothing or shoes, unlike others who still had the items at their homes when police arrived..

As part of their efforts to catch them, British police bugged the phones of the gang members and watched them closely as they met and discussed what to do with the jewels.

These meeting were captured by police who were determined to crack the case. But before they could strike they had to be sure they had as much evidence as possible. And of course, they needed to know where the stolen jewels were.

There are tantalising hints about who Basil could be. In bugged conversations between ringleaders Jones and Perkins they are overheard talking of him “coming a long way”, which might suggest he is not from the UK and now hiding somewhere abroad.

They also speak of Basil’s share of the spoils being gold and foreign cash, the two items that are easiest to convert.

A camera recorded one meeting at a pub in north London a month after the heist. A specialist lip reader was hired by police to work out what they were saying, The Independent reported.

Terry Perkins was heard to say “boom” as he spoke of an explosion, while Danny Jones said: “If we get nicked at least we can hold our heads up that we had a last go.”

The breakthrough finally came when one of the gang, John Collins, used his own car to drive by Hatton Garden the night of the raid. That allowed police to track him, and eventually lead to the others.

But they have been unable to identify Basil. He was absent from all the post-heist meetings and hasn’t been heard of or seen since.

When detectives raided a property in Enfield, north London, on May 19 last year, they recovered three large bags full of some of the stolen loot. To their horror, more than two-thirds of it, estimated to be in excess of £10 million, was still missing.

The Daily Telegraph reported police fear Basil could have already left the country and could be keeping the stolen valuables safe until his co-offenders completed their sentences.

And that could be sooner rather than later.

The maximum sentence for the crime is ten years. With time already served and once the reduction for their guilty pleas is taken into consideration, the trio could be free in just three years.