How a group of elderly men burgled millions of pounds of jewellery and gems

Identity issues - Around £3.6 million worth of valuables have been returned to owners, some of it damaged in the theft. Prosecutor Philip Evans QC said "There are items that are not able to be restored to their owners, that is perhaps because someone has not identified it, or perhaps because there are 15 gold wedding rings which appear in a very similar, or same, manner, and people who own them simply aren't able to say whether or not those are theirs."

20 / 28 Fotos

Who is Basil? - In the years since, detectives have continued to search for those who evaded capture after the burglary. Their main target has been Basil, a mystery figure who emerged in the investigation.

21 / 28 Fotos

Mystery helper - Police think that Basil got the gang into the building housing the vault. Those convicted have insisted that they never knew his real name.

22 / 28 Fotos

Is this Basil? - In April 2018, police arrested Michael Seed, 57, and are said to have found jewellery, gems, and gold ingots in his possession.

23 / 28 Fotos

Michael Caine - Michael Caine plays the ringleader in the movie.

24 / 28 Fotos

Tom Courtenay - Tom Courtenay joins him as one of the members of the geriatric band of thieves.

25 / 28 Fotos

Francesca Annis - Francesca Annis, star of 'Reckless' and 'Dune', is also part of the cast.

26 / 28 Fotos

Michael Gambon -

The legendary actor is also in the heist movie.

27 / 28 Fotos

0 / 28 Fotos

1 / 28 Fotos

2 / 28 Fotos

The value of goods - The estimated value of the items stolen has been reported as upto £200 million, but there is some uncertainty because there was no record of what was stored in the vault.

3 / 28 Fotos

How they did it - On the evening of April 2, 2015 burglars entered the premises through a lift shaft. The area was quiet due to it being the start of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and Passover.

4 / 28 Fotos

Forced entry - They then drilled through the thick vault walls with an industrial power drill.

5 / 28 Fotos

A tight fit - The thieves crawled through a hole measuring just 45 cm by 25 cm.

6 / 28 Fotos

How it happened - In court it emerged that while the men started drilling their way through the 50 cm wall while one member of the gang acted as a lookout from a building opposite.

7 / 28 Fotos

The Grandads Gang - The advanced age of the perpetrators caused the press to dub them Dad’s Army, The Diamond Wheezers, The Old Blaggers, and The Grandads Gang.

8 / 28 Fotos

Problem solving - They apparently ran into problems which meant they needed different equipment, so they left the building to get different tools.

9 / 28 Fotos

Professional - The BBC reported that it would have taken an experienced operator several hours to create the hole.

10 / 28 Fotos

A weekend job - CCTV later revealed that a group of men entered the building several times over the weekend. They left the building for the last time on the morning of April 5.

11 / 28 Fotos

Long hours - The burglars worked through the nights to remove luxury items from 72 safety deposit boxes. They moved the items from the vault to a van using wheelie bins.

12 / 28 Fotos

Missed alert - Scotland Yard received a call in the early hours of Friday, April 3 and were told an intruder alarm had gone off, but reportedly did not respond to the alert.

13 / 28 Fotos

14 / 28 Fotos

15 / 28 Fotos

Charges - Eight men, aged between 46 and 76, were charged with conspiracy to burgle following raids across London and Kent.

16 / 28 Fotos

Sentences - William Lincoln, Terry Perkins, John Collins, Hugh Doyle, Carl Wood, and Daniel Jones were sentenced to a combined total of 34 years in prison for their roles in the robbery.

17 / 28 Fotos

Ringleader - Brian Reader was determined to be the ringleader and sentenced to six years and three months in jail.

18 / 28 Fotos

19 / 28 Fotos