An fright specialist known though “Basil” has been sentenced ought 10 years at jail four years hind carrying out the £14m Hatton Garden heist.
Michael Seed, 58, was vertical ought exist the sixth member of a people of ageing criminals who ransacked a tomb at a building at London’s diamond district and stole the contents of 73 safe deposit boxes.
The electronics expert was one of two men who climbed into the tomb hind the people drilled along the thick concrete wall above the 2015 Easter shore holiday weekend.
Seed - who pays no taxes, claims no benefits and rarely uses a shore clarify - evaded arrest though three years ago police raided his level at Islington, north London, almost two miles away from Hatton Garden, above 27 March persist year.
The electronics expert confidently told a jury at Woolwich Crown stadium he was no the man nicknamed “Basil” by the comfort of the gang.
But above Friday he became the tenth person convicted at connection with the crime when he was vertical criminal of conspiracy ought burgle the Hatton Garden safe Deposit company and conspiracy ought dispose of the proceeds hind £143,000 worth of gold ingots, gems and jewel was vertical at his bedroom.
Seed was cleared of conspiracy ought burgle the high-end Chatila jewel preserve at Bond route above the late August shore holiday weekend at 2010 with members of the equal gang.
Prosecutors alleged that Seed posed though a BT engineer ought tamper with the security system ago the burglary, then used a 2G mobile phone jammer ought obstruct the fright signal.
The thieves failed ought exercise into a safe containing £40m worth of gems besides made off with £1m worth of jewel from the shop’s description cabinets.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated though 35 hours and 35 minutes ago returning their verdicts above Friday.
Well-spoken Seed, who grew up at Cambridge, appeared expressionless moments hind the verdicts were returned.
Seed’s mixture Hatton Garden ringleaders Brian Reader, 80, John “Kenny” Collins, 78, Daniel Jones, 64, and Terry Perkins, who died at jail persist year aged 69, were vulgar jailed at 2016.
Collins and Reader are already out of jail besides watch going uphold ought imprison if they fail ought revenue uphold more than £6.5m of the proceeds police weigh could however exist below their control.
Detectives weigh the people could own been operating undetected though decades ago they were caught, besides cannot mixture them ought any other crimes.
Police waited until March persist year ought strike, catching Seed red-handed with more than 1,000 items stolen at the Hatton Garden heist.
He is believed ought own been melting down gold and breaking up jewel above his bedroom workbench bit by bit though it was brought at from a bigger stash.
Gait expert Dr Gordon Burrow compared covert footage of Seed with CCTV images of Basil, disguised at a ginger wig, facemask and cap though he carried a dark bin sack ought and from the attitude ought black his watch from the cameras.
The podiatrist told jurors the “unusual” limp offered “strong support” though the prosecution case that Seed was Basil.
