£350 million worth of diamonds. A gang of robbers, a calculated plan and a goal to be rich.
Netflix have recently released a documentary on one of the most audacious robberies: the Millennium Dome diamond heist. The target was the ‘Millenium Star’ diamond – a flawless pear-shaped diamond owned by De Beers and part of a collection worth over £350 million, on display at the Dome.
It is split into 3 episodes: Robbers, Cops and Cops & Robbers. While telling the history of the heist, the series delves into legal concepts that underlie serious organised crimes.
Episode 1: Robbers
The first episode explores from the gang’s perspective of the robbery and opens with Lee Wenham, who worked closely with the orchestrator of the heist, Ray Betson. Meticulously planning; recruiting gang members, studying the Dome and anticipating every possibility – well, almost every possibility.
Lee Wenham, an experienced gang member taking after his father, was recruited by Betson, and assisted him in the thorough planning. Wenham shares his background in the series. His struggle with dyslexia, leaving school at 12 and his criminal career – in hopes to achieve the respect his dad had. He believed the Dome heist would provide him just that. Little did he know the heist would be the reason his career ended.
Terry Millman was recruited as the getaway van driver, while Kevin Meredith handled the responsibility of securing the getaway boat and waiting on the Thames for the escape. Aldo Ciarrocchi, acting as the heist’s ‘technician’, was in charge of setting off the smoke bombs. Meanwhile, Robert Adams and William Cockram were recruited to nail the sledgehammer into the indestructible glass which protected the De Beers diamonds.
Not long before the Dome heist, there was the Aylesford attempted robbery of nearly £9 million, which Wenham was involved in. An unsuccessful robbery saved by a successful escape – speeding away via a speed boat. The intricate planning of this robbery showed the significance of using an insider in an attempted robbery.
Thus, Betson attempted to secure an insider for the Dome heist. He approached his brother-in-law, who was a police officer, in hopes of recruitment. Key word is ‘attempted’. It is later revealed that this failed terribly.
Talking Legal
Watching documentaries or crime series, we often focus on the captivating moments such as the break-in, the get-away plan and the arrest. But really, conspiracy to commit a crime is the backbone of criminal operations. This is not so interesting to most. However, without conspiracy, an extensive investigation would not exist.
Under the Criminal Law Act 1977, conspiracy is a criminal offence. For conspiracy to be established and proven, there is a requirement of a clear agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act. In the Dome heist, the discussion of strategies in stealing the diamonds, recruiting individuals and dividing roles between members, all amount to an agreement to commit an unlawful act. This, as well as the elaborate planning, further shows that there is an intent to carry out criminal activity – which is the second element of proving conspiracy.
Mere agreement is not sufficient. The law is also interested in the intent. Meticulous planning and specified roles also prove this element of conspiracy.
The third element, which is the commission of any offences, is not always required. In this instance, the act of taking steps to enter the Dome, and the commission of an overt act before the Flying Squad intercepted, further proved that conspiracy was fulfilled.
Conspiracy is the base which allows criminal planning to come to life. Understanding the conspiracy to commit a robbery is exactly how the Flying Squad were one step ahead.
Episode 2: Cops
This episode shifts the focus to the Metropolitan Police, and its Flying Squad. The Flying Squad are known for nailing down the most difficult armed robberies. They managed to find their way to the Dome heist following the arrest of Millman for drink driving. They released Millman with the intention of following him – in hopes of being led to other criminals.
He had been recruited for the Heist and unknowingly led the Flying Squad directly to the farm safe house – the heist’s central point of planning and meeting.
Thereafter, Operation Magician was underway. The gang were under strict surveillance – police following their every move. From the number of times they visited the Dome, to hidden cameras being installed around the safe house. The Flying Squad eventually connected the dots and realised a plan to attack the Dome was underway. Although unsure of when this was to happen, they were not planning on letting them get away with it.
The amount of time and resources used to investigate this case portrayed the pressure the Flying Squad were under. This heist became a transformative point for the team.
Talking Legal
The law requires a lot more than simply ‘catching the bad guys’. Prosecutors must establish both the actus reus and mens rea; Latin concepts used to describe the elements required to prove a criminal offence.
They are central to every criminal case. Actus reus is the guilty act of a crime – the physical action of committing the crime. Whereas the mens rea, is the guilty mind – the required mental intention behind that action. Both elements must exist and align.
With the focus on robbery, the Defendant must not only commit theft but must have also intended to use force to steal. The actus reus of stealing is not enough, the person must have meant to do so.
The series does a good job in demonstrating this key concept. The carefully, detailed planning and organisation behind the Dome heist shows a clear and deliberate intent to commit robbery.
We are reminded that intent involves more than carrying out an act however that it requires a mental component behind the criminal behaviour. This brings together the criminal responsibility an offender may hold. What was going on in the minds of the offenders at the time?
Episode 3: Cops and Robbers
This is usually the interesting part – the heist plan coming to life. The final episode magnifies the chaos of the Dome raid and trial drama that followed.
Three members of the gang (Cockram, Ciarrocchi and Adams) carried out the plan by crashing a JCB digger through the side of the Millennium Dome. Using the classic technique of using smoke bombs to obstruct CCTV cameras, they broke into the vault using a sledgehammer and successfully reached the diamonds.
Unbeknown to them, the Flying Squad were prepared and waiting for the heist to happen.
The entire gang was arrested at, or near, the scene. Not so much of a flawless plan was it!
The Trial
During the Dome trial, the Defendants denied conspiring to rob in attempts of steering the narrative to suit them. Instead, they wished to plead guilty to committing a lesser charge of theft. Their defence was based on the argument that no weapons were used during the heist, no one was harmed and, they claimed the JCB could not be considered a weapon since it was unexpected that anyone would be there. According to them, this assumption was made on the basis that they had an insider working for them. This attempt quickly failed.
The prosecutor of the case, Martin Heslop KC, known to Murray Hughman, noted that the heist could have been successful, provided they did in fact use an inside man. Instead, their case collapsed when the alleged insider gave evidence in court and revealed that he had reported everything to his seniors in advance of the heist, including the recruitment attempt and everything to do with Walton.
All Defendants were found guilty of robbery, bar Meredith, who was convicted of theft.
Walton, who was eventually tied to the Aylesbury robbery as well, was tried separately and received a prison sentence of 13 years.
The mastermind behind the heist, Betson, was sentenced to 18 years, while Adam and Ciarrocchi both received 15 years.
A final bombshell revealed that the owners of De Beers was warned of a potential robbery – thus he had already replaced the real diamond with a replica, two months prior to the heist.
The gang never had a chance in getting to the real prize.
Talking Legal
Bringing the intent of committing a criminal act to life is where the interest in criminal law lies.
In the case of the Dome heist, the transformation of intent into action is crystal clear. The overt act of entering the Dome and breaking through £50,000 worth of protective glass makes it the pivotal point of shifting intent beyond the planning stage.
What felt significant to me was the discussion around theft and robbery led by Martin Heslop KC during the final episode. There is more to robbery than simply stealing something.
Section 8 of the Theft Act 1968 states that robbery is made up of two elements; first, it must be shown that the defendant has committed theft. Second, that the defendant has used or threatened to use force at the time of the theft. The Defendant’s attempted to find a loophole and argue that they ‘just’ committed a theft rather than a robbery – eliminating the use or threat of force during the theft. However, crashing into the Dome with the use of the JBC, and the clear potential for harm to members of the public, unquestionably satisfied to the second element of robbery.
It could have been a brilliant heist; but it was simply a failed robbery.
As someone who is embarking on their career in criminal law, I find it extremely intriguing to see real cases presented through different perspectives: those of the defendants and law enforcement. These documentaries are not solely for entertaining purposes, but also to educate and reveal truly how complex the legal world is. There is always more than meets the eye.
