«Breaking News» Hatton Garden burglar nicknamed 'Basil' 'could be a foreign criminal behind an £83million heist'

The Hatton Garden burglar nicknamed 'Basil' could be a foreign criminal linked to an £83 million heist in Belgium known as 'The Heist of the Century', a court heard.

Michael Seed, 58, is alleged to be the alarm expert who took part in the £13.7 million safe deposit company heist in London's diamond district in 2015.

But his barrister told Woolwich Crown Court that detectives should have scoured Europe for their man, who could be a foreigner behind audacious burglaries on the continent.

Prosecutors say Seed is the man known as Basil, who also carried out a £1 million burglary at Bond Street jewellery store Chatila with the same team five years earlier. 

Michael Seed, 58, (left) with accomplice John Collins, walking together through a park

Scotland Yard's Detective Constable Matthew Hollands said he has found no evidence of crimes using similar methods in the UK. 

But Richard Sutton QC, defending Seed, said there was no evidence of Basil's nationality and suggested police should have widened the search 'about 100 miles into the continent of Europe'.

Questioning the detective about two high-profile raids in Belgium, he said: 'Did you know there was a radar diamond vault in Antwerp in 2003 where over 100 million euros (£86 million) of jewels were taken by entering into the vault?'

Seed (left) and his accomplice John 'Kenny Collins, who was convicted of conspiracy to carry out burglary

He continued: 'On the very first day of the trial there were some other problems in the jewellery quarter in Antwerp.

'On February 4 this year there was a jewellery vault in Antwerp entered by tunnelling underground and 30 boxes of a safe deposit area emptied.

'Looking at who Basil might be, you suggest he would have to be English.'

Mr Hollands explained that the best description of Basil came from secret audio recordings of others involved in the Hatton Garden heist, and said: 'I'm not aware of any passage which suggests he's not.'

He told the jury at Woolwich: 'It was not a European team who did this.'

The detective said Seed was 'visibly shocked' and 'shaking' when police raided his one-bedroom flat in Islington, north London, on March 27 last year.

Items recovered included two SD memory cards wrapped in tinfoil, which contained encrypted data, including family photographs.

Seed, from Islington, denies two charges of conspiracy to commit burglary over the Hatton Garden and Chatila raids and one charge of conspiracy to convert or transfer criminal property.

Prosecutors claim 'Basil' also carried out a £1 million burglary at Bond Street jewellery store Chatila with the same team five years earlier

Brian Reader, 79, John 'Kenny' Collins, 78, Daniel Jones, 63, Carl Wood, 61, and Terry Perkins, who died last year aged 69, have been convicted of conspiring to carry out the burglary, while William Lincoln, 63, Hugh Doyle, 51, Terri Robinson, 38, and Bren Walters, 47, were also convicted in connection with the crime.

Jones pleaded guilty to the Chatila burglary, while Perkins died in prison before he could be tried.

Charles Matthews, 55, was convicted earlier this year of receiving stolen goods from Chatila.

The trial continues. 

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/02/27/hatton-garden-burglar-nicknamed-basil-could-be-a-foreign-criminal-behind-an-83million-heist/
Main photo article The Hatton Garden burglar nicknamed ‘Basil’ could be a foreign criminal linked to an £83 million heist in Belgium known as ‘The Heist of the Century’, a court heard.
Michael Seed, 58, is alleged to be the alarm expert who took part in the £13.7 million safe deposit c...

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