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Millennium Dome raid
The Millennium Dome raid was an attempted burglary of the Millennium Dome's diamond exhibition in Greenwich, South East London occurring on 7 November 2000. A local gang planned to ram-raid the De Beers diamond exhibition, which was held in the riverside Dome. The gang had then planned to escape via the Thames in a speedboat.
The De Beers diamond exhibition had many jewels on display, including the Millennium Star, a flawless 203.04-carat (40.608 g) gem with an estimated worth of £200 million (equivalent to £380 million in 2025) and considered one of the most perfect gems in the world. Also on display were priceless blue diamonds.
The attempted robbery was foiled by the Flying Squad (led by Jon Shatford) of the Metropolitan Police Service as a result of information from Kent Police Serious Crime who already had the gang members under surveillance for their suspected roles in several unsuccessful armoured vehicle robberies. The operation to foil the robbery was the biggest in the Flying Squad's history. At trial, the judge commended the way it was carried out.
If the heist had succeeded, then with a haul of £350 million worth of diamonds (equivalent to £665 million in 2025), it would have become one of the biggest burglaries in history.
In the summer of 2000, the Flying Squad became aware of a significant armed robbery plot after receiving a tip-off. The location of this robbery was unclear, but the identities of some of the robbers were known to the police. The police spent several months developing intelligence on the plot and set up an operation they codenamed Operation Magician. During the intelligence gathering, the location of the robbery was found to be the Millennium Dome in Greenwich.
In February 2000, armed men tried to pull off a £10 million raid on a security van in Nine Elms, South London. The gunmen had stopped the security van by blocking both ends of Nine Elms Lane. They had planned to use their lorry carrying Christmas trees as a battering ram. This lorry had a huge metal spike welded into the chassis and covered by the foliage. The gang planned to split the security van's rear doors with the ram. The gang's plan failed when a motorist who was late for work removed the keys from the ignition of the unattended Christmas tree lorry. The robbers, left with no choice, escaped in an inflatable speedboat towards Chelsea.
It was attempted again on 7 July in Aylesford, Kent. This time, the gang got closer to the cash, with the metal spike rammed into the van. They were seconds from taking the money when an unexpected police car appeared; the gang shot at the approaching vehicle and again made their escape in an inflatable speedboat.
Detective Superintendent Jon Shatford stated that this attempted robbery brought to his attention a gang capable of carrying out a robbery with this level of planning. This unsuccessful attack provided the police with important clues and led them to track some of the vehicles used in the raid to two isolated farms in rural Kent, which were then put under 24-hour surveillance.
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Millennium Dome raid
The Millennium Dome raid was an attempted burglary of the Millennium Dome's diamond exhibition in Greenwich, South East London occurring on 7 November 2000. A local gang planned to ram-raid the De Beers diamond exhibition, which was held in the riverside Dome. The gang had then planned to escape via the Thames in a speedboat.
The De Beers diamond exhibition had many jewels on display, including the Millennium Star, a flawless 203.04-carat (40.608 g) gem with an estimated worth of £200 million (equivalent to £380 million in 2025) and considered one of the most perfect gems in the world. Also on display were priceless blue diamonds.
The attempted robbery was foiled by the Flying Squad (led by Jon Shatford) of the Metropolitan Police Service as a result of information from Kent Police Serious Crime who already had the gang members under surveillance for their suspected roles in several unsuccessful armoured vehicle robberies. The operation to foil the robbery was the biggest in the Flying Squad's history. At trial, the judge commended the way it was carried out.
If the heist had succeeded, then with a haul of £350 million worth of diamonds (equivalent to £665 million in 2025), it would have become one of the biggest burglaries in history.
In the summer of 2000, the Flying Squad became aware of a significant armed robbery plot after receiving a tip-off. The location of this robbery was unclear, but the identities of some of the robbers were known to the police. The police spent several months developing intelligence on the plot and set up an operation they codenamed Operation Magician. During the intelligence gathering, the location of the robbery was found to be the Millennium Dome in Greenwich.
In February 2000, armed men tried to pull off a £10 million raid on a security van in Nine Elms, South London. The gunmen had stopped the security van by blocking both ends of Nine Elms Lane. They had planned to use their lorry carrying Christmas trees as a battering ram. This lorry had a huge metal spike welded into the chassis and covered by the foliage. The gang planned to split the security van's rear doors with the ram. The gang's plan failed when a motorist who was late for work removed the keys from the ignition of the unattended Christmas tree lorry. The robbers, left with no choice, escaped in an inflatable speedboat towards Chelsea.
It was attempted again on 7 July in Aylesford, Kent. This time, the gang got closer to the cash, with the metal spike rammed into the van. They were seconds from taking the money when an unexpected police car appeared; the gang shot at the approaching vehicle and again made their escape in an inflatable speedboat.
Detective Superintendent Jon Shatford stated that this attempted robbery brought to his attention a gang capable of carrying out a robbery with this level of planning. This unsuccessful attack provided the police with important clues and led them to track some of the vehicles used in the raid to two isolated farms in rural Kent, which were then put under 24-hour surveillance.
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