News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

The Mirror has uncovered dramatic footage showing the men responsible for one of Britain’s biggest ever jewellery raids.

In the first real-time account of how the daring theft was executed, we have revealed how the gang arrived late on the night before Good Friday , then disappeared with the loot early on Easter Sunday.

Here's what we now know about the raids in light of the amazing footage.

Who are the thieves and how many where there?

The video shows six men were involved in the raid, we have nicknamed them Mr Ginger, Mr Strong, Mr Montana, The Gent, The Tall Man and The Old Man.

It is feared they may have already left the country.

Not a lot is known about the criminals, except for the incredible skill with which they pulled the theft off.

Former Flying Squad chief Barry Phillips described the raid as "highly organised" and "sophisticated".

However they may have made one vital error in leaving the footage behind.

Former armed robber Noel Smith has said a 'foreign team' could be behind the heist, but speculation about an inside job points to British operators.

He told Sky News: "I'd say a vast amount of planning went into this.

"For a job like this from a criminal's perspective you'd want a maximum of five people on the job itself.

"They would probably have been out of their by Saturday and then the stuff would have gone out of the country.

"That's my personal opinion - it's long gone."

When did the raid happen?

In TWO separate visits, the masked men worked relentlessly through the night to drill their way into the underground vault at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company.

The men arrived late on the night before Good Friday, then disappeared with the loot early on Easter Sunday.

They first appear on camera at 9.23pm on Good Friday - four minutes after staff locked up for the Easter Weekend

They leave for the last time after one man comes back in and picks up two red tools at 6.43am on Easter Sunday.

Will they get caught?

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

No arrests had yet been made, but the investigation is at an early stage.

DCI Paul Johnson of the Metropolitan Police said: "It's a sophisticated theft and whether it involved some inside planning will form part of the investigation," he said.

"We've only just got into the vault and there is a lot of dust and debris."

But Mr Phillips thinks the gang will get caught through their own greed .

The former Flying Squad officer said: "They've clearly got a vast amount of money.

"Splashing their cash around or being foolish could lead to one of them giving the game away.

(Image: Universal News And Sport)

"There's no honour among thieves - all it takes is for someone to get jealous or a friend to notice someone behaving oddly, splashing cash around.

"There's a saying 'no plan survives contact with the enemy.'

"It doesn't matter how smoothly the heist was planned- it can still go wrong afterwards.

"If you look at history, with the Bank of America Heist in 1975, it was stupidity and greed that gave two of the robbers away.

"I think its likely they will allow greed to get the better of them and give themselves away."

How did they get in?

The building where the theft took place is made up of a number of businesses, with a communal entrance.

The safety deposit business is in the basement.

There was no sign of a forced entry to the outside of the building.

The thieves got to the roof, disabled the communal lift on the second floor and then abseiled down the lift shaft to reach the basement.

They forced open shutter doors into the basement where the business is located, then made their way to the vault.

Once there they used a heavy duty diamond-tipped drill - the make was a Hilti DD350 - to bore holes into the vault wall.

The wall is two metres thick and made of reinforced concrete.

Police believe up to 70 safety deposit boxes may have been raided.

(Image: Youtube)

Was it an inside job?

The lack of a forced entry and the professionalism of the theft have fuelled speculation that the thieves had access to sensitive security data.

Although there is no suggestion that the directors and staff of the business have done anything wrong, Mr Phillips told the Daily Telegraph it was "inconceivable" the thieves did not have access to information about the building's layout and security.

He added: "The raid was well planned and well executed.

"They must have had inside information to be able to get into a premises like that, to know the routes, the vulnerabilities, the lift shaft, and to defeat a state-of-the-art security system."

What security did they overcome?

The security system has been described as state-of-the-art.

The doors of the vault are reportedly 18 inch thick steel and the walls are reinforced concrete.

But following the press conference, Hatton Garden safe box holder Aadil Shaikh questioned the security at the safe deposit business.

He said: "This place has been broken into twice before - why wasn't there seismic activity meters?

"Why wasn't a fail safe alarm system going off?

"These questions need to be adequately answered."

Hiding their tracks

The gang behind the Hatton Garden jewellery may have used the noise of construction work on the nearby Crossrail project as cover while breaking into the vault, it has been claimed.

The gang used heavy-duty industrial metal cutters to get into the vault which would have emitted large amounts of noise.

But a local diamond trader told The Times that this sound would have been drowned out by the noise of construction work on the Crossrail project at nearby Farringdon Station.

(Image: SWNS)

What has happened to the jewels?

The gems stolen in the Hatton Garden jewellery robbery are already out of the country, crime expert Mr Phillips claimed.

He said the sheer professionalism of the raid points to the fact the stolen goods are likely to be have been spirited away and sold.

"There would have been all sorts, gold, jewels, priceless gems, and I think they would have already found buyers before the heist," he said.

"I have no doubt they're already out of the country and have been sold on.

"A lot of them will have already been sold on by fences and so on.

"It's known in the trade as being 'slaughtered'.

"Once they've been converted into cash they're basically untraceable."

Former armed robber Noel Smith said the diamonds would have been cut for sale.

(Image: BBC)

How much was taken?

DCI Johnston said no official value has yet been put on the theft. Estimates range from £35m to £200million.

He said: "We haven't identified yet all the boxes that have been interfered with."

Mr Phillips added that the safety box deposit industry is secretive by nature, making a definitive value of the goods taken virtually impossible

He added: "A number of people use them to hide their assets from family or for tax purposes or because they are hiding ill-gotten gains."

It is thought jewellers who store their valuable goods at the centre in Holborn, central London, work on orders for top footballers and their wives and girlfriends.

The footballers affected are likely to be those playing for top London clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham.

Speaking to Sky News, a source said: "Players have almost unlimited spending power and love to outdo each other with extravagant purchases, especially where jewellery is concerned."