01x03 - The Baker Street Bank Burglary

[bunniefuu]

It's one of England's
most renowned banks,

and its supposedly
theft-proof.

There's a reason as to why
it's never been attempted.

It's down deep
in the basement.

It's completely designed
to be impregnable.

Then, a thief,

inspired by a Sherlock Holmes mystery,

attempts something outrageous.

His plan, on the surface,
seems crazy.

The way they did it,
the way they tunneled in...

It's an amazing piece
of engineering.

Digging
through eight tons of dirt,

they're confident
they'll hit their own payday.

And then,
everything starts to go wrong.

The tunnel could collapse,
and they could be trapped.

And they've got
no ventilation at all.

And they think,
"It's gonna k*ll us."

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

The masterminds
behind every great heist

see what most people don't.

Risking everything to pull off
the score of a lifetime,

it takes a bold plan,

the right team,

and the skill to stay
one step ahead of the law.

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]

♪ ♪

The safe deposit boxes here

at the Baker Street branch
of Lloyds Bank,

where London's
rich and powerful

stash their wealth
and their secrets.

It's a tantalizing target
for the right set of thieves.

And in '70s Britain, the number
of bold thieves is growing.

♪ ♪

The early '70s
have been described

as the hangover
after the swinging '60s.

Unemployment was up.

Economic growth was down.

More so than ever,
through popular culture,

through media,
people were being exposed

to the high life,

to those with power
and with wealth.

But yet, there were
very few opportunities

to achieve such wealth
through legitimate means.

So you're seeing a breed
of developing criminals,

criminals
who are learning skills.

These aren't people who
just rob people in the street.

These are people
who are organized,

working out
how to do the big heists.

♪ ♪

The London underworld
had been looking

at the Lloyds Bank
for some time.

They knew there were
lots of high value items

in this subterranean vault
they would've loved to get at.

Lloyds Bank actively
advertises to elite customers,

like celebrities
and politicians.

There's gold.
There's jewels.

There's all this wealth
that's there

in these safety deposit boxes.

There's a very good reason
why Lloyds Bank

is such a compelling target,

but there's actually
an even better reason

as to why
it's never been attempted.

♪ ♪

The Lloyds Bank
on Baker Street

is probably one
of the most secure banks

in England,
let alone London.

It's completely designed
to be impregnable.

And virtually no other bank
had a vault like this.

♪ ♪

Its b*mb-proof door
weighs five tons.

Its steel reinforced concrete
walls are three feet thick.

And its
1,000 safe deposit boxes

require two keys to open.

And then,
there's the alarms.

There's also tremor alarms
all around the vault,

so if anyone were
to try and jackhammer

or force their way in,

then they're going
to trigger these alarms

very quickly
and get caught.

So this is like
the Fort Knox of banks.

It's almost guaranteed

that any kind of bank robbery
would be foiled

before they can even get
to the vault door.

However, there was
one criminal mastermind

who decided that
he was up for the challenge.

Well, Anthony Gavin,
on the surface,

looks a fairly ordinary
kind of bloke

rather than a serious criminal.

He's born in a suburb
of North London about 1933.

He'd had training
in the royal fusiliers

in the British army.

We know that he was,
therefore, disciplined,

intelligent.

And he knew the importance
of teamwork.

Anthony Gavin
is a tough guy.

He's somebody
who will get things done.

And he's also someone
who is looking

for that big hit
that will make him rich.

He looks outside the box
for inspiration

and finds it
someplace surprising:

"The Adventures
of Sherlock Holmes."

Tony Gavin,
like a lot of people,

is a fan of
the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

Sherlock Holmes,
another famous resident

of Baker Street,

was involved
in an adventure

called "The Red-Headed League."

In it, a g*ng tunneled
into a bank

from a neighboring building.

In this way,
a Sherlock Holmes story

becomes a real-life inspiration
to rob a bank.

But he's going
to rewrite the ending.

♪ ♪

Gavin's Holmes-inspired plan
isn't simple.

He needs to map a tunnel path

to a spot precisely
below the vault.

He needs experts

with the right know-how
to dig the tunnel.

He needs someone smart enough

to disable the series
of sophisticated alarms.

What he needs is a team.

Anthony Gavin is particularly
good at organizing.

He could bring
all these things together.

He could get the equipment.

He knew how to get people

to the right place
at the right time.

Anthony Gavin
has got a great plan,

but he knows
he can't do it alone.

He needs other people
to help him.

♪ ♪

His first hire:

someone to pose as a customer

while getting precise details
on the vault.

He chooses Reginald Tucker.

Reginald Tucker is somebody

who the police
don't know anything about.

And that makes him ideal
for Anthony Gavin.

He goes into Lloyds Bank,
bold as brass,

and he opens an account
with a fake name, G. Edwards.

Depositing £500
and dressed to the nines

as if he's a high member
of British society,

he opens the account
with no questions asked.

And once he's got
the safety deposit box,

he can go in time after time
to get those measurements

to plan out what the
actual vault looks like inside.

Next up is a trusted friend,
Mickey Gervaise,

AKA Skinny.

He's worked with Gavin
on smaller jobs before,

but his real value is obvious.

He's a highly skilled
alarm specialist.

Originally, he'd been working
for a company called ADT,

which was an alarm company.

And then, he decided
to do someone a favor,

who was a criminal,
and he thought,

"I can make much more money
from doing this."

Gavin assigns Gervaise
a critical task:

figuring out how to get
past the tremor alarms

so the team
can breach the vault.

Trembler alarms are

a small piece of metal
inside a spring.

If the device is shaken at all,
the spring moves,

touches the metal,
completes a circuit,

and sets off the alarm.

While Gervaise
investigates the alarms

and Tucker scouts the vault,

Gavin searches for help

with the toughest part
of the heist: tunneling.

He knows he needs some
very specialized people

with some special skills.

He also knows
that he needs to have

people that he can trust
to not talk.

Gavin recruits two more men:

first, Brian Reader,
a guy who can keep a secret,

and next, Little Legs,
the tunneling expert,

whose short height makes
being in tight spaces easier.

Because of some
of the strategies employed

in pulling off this heist,
we have to assume

that some of the team members
had engineering backgrounds,

mining
or quarry work backgrounds.

And also,
they were using materials

that you couldn't find
in just any hardware store.

If the five men managed
to get inside,

they'll need someone on the
outside to watch their backs.

The final member of Gavin's
team is the lookout,

Bobby Mills.

With the team in place,

Reginald Tucker gathers
the details on the vault.

He takes an umbrella

into the safety deposit box
with him,

and he uses it to measure
the dimensions of the room

to be able
to precisely tell the team

exactly where they're
gonna need to tunnel in.

And he does this a long
while before the robbery.

So they know
what they're dealing with,

and they start to think about
how they're gonna get at it.

Tucker also learns
about a security feature

that will be a big help.

The bank manager
would say to him,

"And one of the great things
about this bank

"is that we have a time lock,
which goes on every weekend,

"and that cannot be opened
by even me

"until the time
it's designated.

"You can't open
a time lock safe.

"It won't open till 10:00
on a Monday morning,

so everything is safe
over the weekend."

So they knew that no one
would be going into that safe

over the weekend.

But even with Tucker's
successful recon work,

there are more puzzles
to solve

before attempting this heist.

The bank's underground alarms
are formidable.

They simply
can't do the robbery

until they figure out how
to overcome the trembler alarm.

And this is where
their first stroke of luck

comes into place.

At the time that he's casing
this bank for the robbery,

he sees that they're
replacing a water main

right in front of the bank.

This digging,
using pneumatic drills,

is, of course, going to set
off the trembler alarms.

And it does just that.

The first time
the police come out,

sirens blaring, and they
inform the bank manager

that it is the drilling
that has set off the alarm.

There's no robbery
taking place.

Now, this happens
on a number of occasions.

And each time,
the police come out

but they have less
and less concern about this.

The roadwork
is a lucky break.

It makes the trembler alarms
less concerning.

But Gavin still needs

to find a starting point
for his tunnel.

Anthony Gavin chose that bank
because he knew there were

many businesses opening
and closing in the area.

And a short time later,

a business closes just
two doors away from the bank.

It's called Le Sac.

And the g*ng moves in.

The advantage of Le Sac
is it has a basement.

And that basement
is in direct line

with the vault two doors up.

They need to have somebody
to take out the lease

on the building and lease
this building legitimately,

so Gavin enlists
a silent partner.

This is somebody
that nobody in the team

other than Gavin knows.

With a dig site secured,

Gavin and the team
start the next phase.

To disguise
their real mission,

they dress as contractors
renovating the leather shop.

The basement of Le Sac
is 40 feet away

from the vault
underneath Lloyds Bank.

So this is going to be

an incredible feat
of engineering.

And this was not something
they did over one weekend.

They did it
over a period of weeks.

They only dig at weekends

when they think
very few people will notice.

Tunneling is slow,
difficult work.

And they have to do it for
40 feet to reach the vault.

That's more than eight tons
of dirt and bricks.

Then, one Sunday night,

the team's digging
almost buries the whole plan.

So August the 15th, 1971,

proves to be a bit
of a difficult day

because you can't dig a tunnel,
especially when there's

lots of bricks and all that
and you're chiseling them out.

And it makes noise.
It makes vibrations.

And as they're moving past
Le Sac, the leather goods,

they start to go
underneath the Chicken Inn.

It's a fried chicken place.

And there's staff there
on the weekends.

And they keep hearing
all these noises, you see?

And they can't make out
what it is.

So at one point,
they actually go

and knock on the door
of Le Sac

to see whether they know
what the noise is.

But the robbery team
are down in the basement.

They can't hear anything.

They don't know
people are upstairs.

And they don't
answer the door.

So the staff
of the Chicken Inn,

they actually think
about ringing the police.

Is the robbery
about to be rumbled?

The stakes are so high
at this moment.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

It's one month
before the heist,

and the team's efforts

to tunnel their way
to the Lloyds Bank vault

is attracting
some unwanted attention.

A member of staff
from the Chicken Inn

goes to investigate.

The stakes are so high
at this moment.

Is he going to call the police?

Is he going to try and get
through and into the shop?

♪ ♪

Gavin has no idea
who's knocking,

but anyone
who sees the basement

will know this isn't
an ordinary renovation.

He apologizes for the noise.

And after some grumbling,

the Chicken Inn employee
goes away.

That was
a really close call.

So, again, this robbery team
were very lucky.

And luck is an important part
of crime.

Luck is also an important
part of tunneling,

even for skilled diggers.

With layers
of unstable dirt and debris

built up over centuries,

each brick they remove

could trigger
a deadly collapse.

They're digging
through Victorian buildings,

crumbling foundations.

Even though they had
mining experts on the team,

there's always the danger

the tunnel could collapse
and they could be trapped.

If the tunnel collapses
onto them, it's game over.

No one's gonna call paramedics
to tell them that,

"Hey, we have a person
that is underground,

and he needs help."

This is not
a glamorous robbery.

It's dark.
It's claustrophobic.

It's hot.
There's very little oxygen.

So they cleared the earth
into sacks,

which they store on the side.

And as they get further in,

they start to use a trolley
on pulley ropes

so that they can
move the earth back.

They also send
their recon man, Tucker,

to check the tunnel's progress
from above ground.

Mapping out
the inside of the vault

is only half
of Reg Tucker's job.

The g*ng also need to know
how far to dig.

Tucker paces the sidewalk

to determine how far
the tunnel is from the vault.

Gavin needs
these measurements,

along with compass readings,
to keep the team on target.

Imagine months and months
of digging

only to then pop up
in the middle of Central London

on the pavement.

After nine weeks
of dangerous work,

the team thinks
they're just below the vault.

But before they try
to breach it,

Gavin wants to make sure
the tremor alarms

they hope are off
are really off.

Gavin and the team believe

that the seismic alarms
from the bank

either have to be turned down
low or off completely

because of the construction
that's continually

setting off these alarms
in the bank.

Gervaise is able
to make a discreet inquiry

followed with some money,
of course,

to find out if the alarms have
actually been switched off.

And as a stroke of luck,
they've been turned off.

Because those tremor alarms
have been deactivated,

there are no automatic systems

to detect their approach
to the vault.

It's all set.

The team will have
from Friday at 5:00 p.m.

until 10:00 a.m. Monday,

when the vault door's
time lock will disengage.

They'll have an entire weekend
to get rich.

♪ ♪

The following weekend,

five of the crew members
enter the shop,

making their way
into the tunnel.

Lookout Bobby Mills keeps
watch from a rooftop above.

He has a walkie talkie
to talk to them.

And he is keeping an eye
on everyone coming and going.

And the word comes
over the walkie talkies

from the lookout.

"There's no one around. Go."

♪ ♪

The heist is on.

All that stands
between the crew

and the richest vault
in England

is two feet
of steel-reinforced concrete.

And this is where
things get really difficult.

Breaching
is basically using

the least amount
of practical force

in gaining entry to a room
or a structure.

So Gavin's first course
of action

is mechanical breaching
using a hydraulic jack.

They put the jack in place
and start jacking it up.

It's a bit like if you're
taking a wheel off a car.

It's that kind of jack.

But the jack
isn't strong enough,

because unknown to the g*ng,

underneath where they are
is an old spring.

The ground is soft.
It gives way.

They're pushing
and shoving this thing,

and it just
won't crack the floor.

So they have a real problem.

Thinking of a plan B...

Gavin's always got something
up his sleeve...

they decide
to use a thermal lance.

Now, this is a really
high-end piece of equipment.

And so, they try

and cut through
the solid floor by using it.

but the space is too small
and the fumes are thick.

And poisonous gas
is coming out from it.

And it should never be used
in an enclosed space.

A thermal lance is
like a hot glue g*n,

except it spits out
molten steel and aluminum.

The 8,000-degree mixture

can slice through steel
and solid rock.

It can get them
into the vault quickly,

or it could
get them all k*lled.

It potentially
could blow up,

because you're messing
with pressurized gas.

You can't just go in there

wearing what you're wearing
right now

and start using the torch

because it produces
a lot of slag,

hot molten rocks and debris,

especially on that angle.

If you're trying
to reach that way,

all that stuff
is gonna fall down on you.

And they've got
no ventilation,

of course,
because they're in a tunnel.

So they think,
"It's gonna k*ll us."

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Two and a half hours
into the heist,

the plan to break into
the Lloyds of London vault

is breaking down.

After a setback with the jack,

Anthony Gavin and his crew
are trying

to cut through the concrete
floor with a thermal lance.

♪ ♪

It fills the tunnel
with fumes

and it doesn't seem to be
making any progress at all.

Still, that concrete
and steel floor resists them.

[coughing]

As his crew chokes
on toxic fumes,

Gavin calls for a stop.

And they think,
"We haven't got enough time.

"We can't do this.

"It's gonna take us days
to cut through.

"It's gonna k*ll us.

"It's really dangerous

"'cause we're breathing
all these fumes

"and the heat is tremendous.

"So what are we going to do?

We better look for a plan C."

♪ ♪

As his crew chokes
on toxic fumes,

Gavin calls for a stop
and a change of tactic.

They're behind schedule

and their lance
isn't exactly silent.

That leaves one option,
and it's a little less subtle.

And that's
when they pull out expl*sives.

Now, this is really risky,
really dangerous,

but they've got desperate.

Plan A hasn't worked.

Plan B hasn't worked.

So they move on to plan C.

♪ ♪

It may seem a bit dramatic,

but they thought,
"Well, this is the only way

we're gonna get through, is to
blow a hole through the floor."

So when it comes
to expl*sive operations,

it is not necessarily hard
to do.

It is just very easy
to mess up.

One small move,
one small error,

and you are done.

Imagine
the conditions underground.

The air is thick with fumes

from trying to use
the thermal lance.

And so,
what they then try to do

is they drill holes
into the floor of the vault.

And they insert gelignite.

They use gelignite,

which is basically
a safer cousin of dynamite.

It's malleable enough
for you to mold it

in shapes that you needed.

In this case,
they were able to insert it

into those drill holes.

When detonated,
the force of the expl*si*n

should travel upwards,

not blow back
through the tunnel

and into the basement.

Using expl*sives
in a tunnel

is a great way
to k*ll yourself.

They retreat
down the tunnel

to what they hope
will be a safe distance.

They've got the lookout
on a building.

And he's watching out.

So it becomes a question.

Are they gonna
blow themselves up,

or are they gonna
bury themselves alive?

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]

♪ ♪

So they've done it,
finally done it.

♪ ♪

And there's
this heart-stopping moment,

this moment of elation
that all the work,

they finally got
in this place.

They know no one else
could do this.

Through the haze
from the expl*si*n,

the Baker Street burglars get
their first glimpse inside...

a thousand safe deposit boxes
holding millions in loot.

Once the g*ng
are inside the vault,

it should be plain sailing,
but it isn't.

And the vault, which is
a relatively small room

and, of course,
completely airtight,

is filled with
the choking rubble and fumes

of the expl*si*n that they just
used to blast their way in.

♪ ♪

The task ahead is huge.

They still need
to go and break

into hundreds
of safety deposit boxes.

And they have a decision
to make.

Do they stay and take what
they can in those conditions,

or do they leave, get
some fresh air, get some rest,

and then come back calmly
a few hours later

to do a much more
professional job?

Gavin calls lookout Bobby
Mills on the walkie talkie

to discuss
the change in plans.

What Gavin and the crew
don't know

is that an amateur
radio enthusiast has tuned in.

♪ ♪

Robert Rowlands
is convinced

he's listening in
on a raid taking place.

♪ ♪

And at first,
he thinks he's got...

it's a radio play
about some criminal activity.

And then, he starts to realize,
it's not a radio play.

It's actually real life.

He thinks
it's his local tobacconists.

He contacts
his local police station,

but they're not interested.

So he said, "Well, OK, sir.

"Well, if you hear any more,

try and record it
so we can hear it."

And so, he does.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Bobby Mills is stood
on top of the building.

He doesn't quite understand
the conditions

that the men
have been working through.

We then hear this incredible
exchange of words

as they negotiate
what they're going to do next.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[coughing]

It's all horrible.
They're all coughing.

And then, the lookout, he's
had his binoculars on all day,

and his eyes are beginning to...
he puts it like "organ stops."

But what are they gonna do?
Are they gonna press on?

But here, we begin to witness
the team falling apart

at the most crucial moment.

You can hear the stress
in the voices.

They're swearing.

They're becoming quite angry
with one another.

And one of them commits
the cardinal sin.

They mention one
of the team members' names.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]

Anthony Gavin's crew
is finally

inside the Baker Street
bank vault,

but toxic fumes
are suffocating the crew.

So when the lookout insists

the guys on the inside continue,

the ringleader loses his cool.

So it all gets a bit tense
between them.

And at one point, which
you can hear on the recording,

Anthony Gavin
actually speaks the name

of the person
who's on the lookout,

which rather gives the game
away as to who was there.

♪ ♪

They're all exhausted,

and they realize
the clock is ticking.

But what are they gonna do?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Though Bobby Mills
backs down,

eavesdropper Robert Rowlands
doesn't.

He has
the team's transmissions

captured on tape
and calls Scotland Yard.

They send a couple
of police officers around

to see Robert Rowlands.

And he then plays them
the recording.

And they begin to see
what his point is,

that there appears to be
a robbery going on somewhere,

probably a bank.

So Rowlands, being very
well-versed in ham radio

and realizing
that these robbers

are talking
over walkie talkies,

knows
that it has to be very close.

So he tells this to the
police officers and says,

"Look, you need to check banks
within a one-mile radius."

And they dismiss it.

They say, "Well, you know,
we know what we're doing."

♪ ♪

After more than six hours
of radio silence,

the heist team
is broadcasting again.

And this time,
a bigger audience tunes in.

Detectives realize
that zoning in

on the source
of these radio emissions

that are being picked up
by Robert Rowlands

is absolutely vital,

and they think about
what equipment they could use.

There are radio detector vans,

so they try to get hold
of one of these.

When the mobile
radio detective unit

drives through a neighborhood,

police can pinpoint
the source of transmissions

in less than 15 minutes.

Law enforcement calls
this technique fox hunting.

But finding this fox
isn't easy.

They had real trouble
getting hold

of the chap who was
actually driving this thing,

because instead
of being on duty,

he'd gone off with the van
to see his mistress.

♪ ♪

It's a huge setback
for the police.

But, of course, it's a
massive boost for the robbers.

♪ ♪

The crew isn't even aware

that this cat and mouse game
is happening.

They're too busy
sorting through the tape

and finding
some unusual items.

In the safety deposit boxes,

people leave
all kinds of things...

valuables, jewels, heirlooms.

But other things that people
keep in safety deposit boxes

are their secrets.

It's not just
legitimate people

who like using
safety deposit boxes

but all sorts of criminals,

so besides lots of cash,
they're also finding drugs.

I was told by people
who were on that robbery

what they did find was
some compromising pictures

of what was
a famous 1970s politician

in a compromising situation.

And they deliberately
left them out

so the police could see them.

♪ ♪

While Scotland Yard
checks banks all over town,

Gavin and his men are
cleaning out the Lloyds vault.

They don't realize
the police are

monitoring their communications
and closing in.

Then, the crew
catches another break.

They decide
to change the frequency

on the walkie talkies.

♪ ♪

Over.

♪ ♪

The robbery is under way.

They only have hours in order
to catch them red-handed.

So the police officers
call the bank managers

of each bank.

They open up.

They take a look,
and then they move on.

Eventually, they actually go
to Lloyds Bank.

♪ ♪

They're in the vault.

And then, the lookout says,
"The Old Bill are outside."

That's the police.

♪ ♪

Can you imagine?

They're surrounded by jewels
and money and unknown riches,

and the police are right
at the front door.

The police is being let in
by the manager.

And the manager
is letting them through

so they can get down
into the vault.

♪ ♪

They're all quiet,
not making the sound.

♪ ♪

You could probably
hear their hearts beating

as they're waiting
to see what happens.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

[expl*si*n]

It's taken months for the
team to get inside the vault.

And now, intercepted
radio communications

bring the police
right outside it.

♪ ♪

Those inside can only wait, wondering,

can the police
smell the dust or the fumes?

Will they be able to get inside
and catch them red-handed?

Can they hear anything?

Will there be any signs
of break-in from the outside?

The police look
at each other.

There's no sign
of any break-in,

as far as they know.
They don't realize

that someone's got in
through the floor.

This is why
it's such an ingenious heist.

The vault is
on a time delay lock.

That means the bank manager
can't actually open the vault.

There's no alarms going off.

There's no damage
to the vault door.

The bank manager
and the police leave.

And they move on to the
next bank to check that one.

Unbelievably, the team
have got away with it.

So the lookout says,
"You're all clear, boys."

♪ ♪

So they now get on
with the really crucial stuff,

which is emptying
the safety deposit boxes.

♪ ♪

The police visit bank
after bank after bank,

hoping to catch the robbers
red-handed.

But by Sunday evening,
they have no result.

And they're wondering,
on Monday morning,

which bank will open up
to find its been robbed?

After 30 hours
in the vault,

the g*ng is ready
to make their escape.

But Gavin can't resist
leaving a challenge behind.

He scrolls "let's see
how Sherlock Holmes

solves this one"
on the wall.

Having taken
as much jewelry and money

and everything else
that was in those boxes

as they could manage
in the time that they had,

they cover up their tracks.

They wipe down the equipment

so that
there's no fingerprints

or other evidence
that they could leave.

And it's thought
that they then go

to a North London premises

in order
to divide up the loot.

♪ ♪

It's Monday morning,

and bank employees arrive
for work at 10:00 a.m. sharp.

The same Lloyds Bank manager

who reported no problems
the day before

makes his way
to the vault.

The bank manager
and his deputy

go down into the basement,
down into the safety vault.

And they stand
outside the time lock,

wait for it to come to the
point where they can open it.

And click.

♪ ♪

And what they see inside,
their jaws drop,

because it's complete mayhem.

All the things
that have been thrown around.

There's all the rubble
from the expl*si*n.

There's bits
of safety deposit box.

And, of course,
they phone the police.

News of the raid breaks.

It's across
all the newspapers,

and it becomes known
as "The Walkie Talkie Heist."

When the story breaks,
there is a media frenzy.

It's quite exciting.

As that happens,

people who had safety
deposit boxes in the vault

start talking
to the police.

And the police begin to learn
how much was stolen.

The number goes up and up
and up by millions.

♪ ♪

The clients
who typically rented

the safety deposit boxes

were from the highest end
of British society.

When the story broke,
it was clear

that not everybody wanted to
reveal what was in the boxes.

And that allows all sorts
of conspiracy stories

to begin to circulate.

♪ ♪

Not only were they
losing their valuables

but also possible secrets

that could cause them
to be blackmailed over.

Who exactly had secrets there

that are now out
in the public?

Was there
some racy photos there?

Were there some things
that the royal family

wouldn't want to get out?

According to my sources,
they each got...

I mean, it's a lot of money
in the 1970s...

£138,000,

plus about four times
that amount in jewelry.

♪ ♪

Police don't need
to be Sherlock Holmes

to figure out the first step
in solving this crime.

It's tracing the tunnel
back here to Le Sac.

But the team scrubbed
this place so clean,

Scotland Yard now has
to do their own digging.

♪ ♪

When the police
discovered the robbery,

they realized
that the lease holder

would probably know something
about a 40-foot tunnel

being dug in the basement
of their shop.

Benjamin Wolfe had been
recruited by Anthony Gavin.

It was his role

to secure a premises
near to the bank.

He signed the lease on Le Sac
in his own name.

♪ ♪

So the robbery is
a really major embarrassment

for Scotland Yard,
and they got a lot of warning

from Robert Rowlands when
he was listening on the radio.

So they throw everything
they've got in

to try to locate him.

So it's very easy
to trace Benjamin Wolfe

and ask him
what was happening.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]

After
the Baker Street burglars

make off with millions,

Scotland Yard detectives
question Benjamin Wolfe,

the silent partner

who made Gavin's
impossible scheme possible.

♪ ♪

When they questioned him,

he claimed
that he just rented the place,

therefore,
and left it empty

and he didn't realize
anybody had been in there.

He stuck to his story.

He was simply
a local businessman.

He was waiting renovations
to happen in his shop.

And at no moment
did he give up the g*ng.

He was the perfect accomplice.

♪ ♪

But they put him
under surveillance.

And that gives them some clues

as to the people
that he is in contact with.

And they start to learn
who he knows.

And the same names
keep coming up.

One of those names
is Anthony Gavin,

whose voice sounds
an awful lot

like the walkie talkie
operator in Le Sac.

We thought we'd come out
with a range of meeting places

for you so that we can go
where we're gonna go.

Sorry about last night, mate.

Within weeks of the heist,

Scotland Yard seems to know
who the ringleader is.

But they're slow to act.

♪ ♪

It was so embarrassing.

The home secretary
would've been on

to the commissioner
at Scotland Yard.

"Why haven't you got
these robbers?"

This wasn't
police incompetence.

This was police corruption.

And some individuals
had a lot to gain

by covering up the robbery.

Could the lack of arrests
be caused

by some investigators
blackmailing suspects

to get their own piece
of the pie?

One of the officers that was
in charge of the investigation

was DI Alec Eist.

He was probably the most
corrupt police officer

in the Met
in his time.

Over decades,
it's thought that he protected

some of Britain's
most notorious criminals

for his own personal gain.

Corruption was certainly
a factor in this.

And it turns out to be a factor
in the sentencing.

Some of the robbery teams,
they get arrested.

And it's said that they paid to
get the charges watered down.

But not everyone associated
with the Baker Street job

escapes the consequences.

In late October,
seven weeks after the heist,

the ringleader,
Anthony Gavin,

and Reginald Tucker,
the inside man, are arrested.

Both plead guilty

and are sentenced
to 12 years in prison.

Wolfe goes to trial and loses,

but he only gets eight years
due to his advanced age.

A couple of people
got off completely.

And it's said because
they paid very large sums

in bribery,
they weren't ever charged.

And one
of the biggest ironies of all,

Mickey Gervaise,

the man hired to avoid
the seismic sensor alarms,

avoids arrest.

Mickey Gervaise,
the alarm specialist,

never got done
for this robbery.

Now whether he paid off police
officers, we don't know.

He's one of the major burglars
and robbers of his time.

He disappeared
about ten years

after he'd been involved
with the Baker Street robbery.

And no one
has ever seen him since.

♪ ♪

The mystery that continues
to surround this case

allows
multiple conspiracy theories.

Is this about protecting
the royal family?

Is this police corruption
of the highest order?

All of the documentation
around the investigation

is held
in the National Archives.

It's heavily redacted.

You don't really understand
exactly what happened.

Now, these documents are under
embargo for a hundred years.

They won't be released
until at least 2071.

What's being covered up?

Why is this still
a national secret?

♪ ♪

Out there somewhere
is someone who could tell us

exactly what happened
and cut away from the myth

and let us know

what the true story of
the Baker Street robbery was.

♪ ♪

This is
a real old school heist.

It's the kind of case
that has been made into film.

It's the kind of case
that's been written about.

It grabs the imagination,

not just because
of the daring,

not just because
of how they did it

and the technical ingenuity
they used,

but also
because there are

so many unanswered questions
even now,

and some won't be answered
until much later this century.

♪ ♪

The final tally stolen from
Lloyds Bank on Baker Street

is said to be £8 million.

That's $100 million today.

Only a fraction of it
was ever recovered.

But it's not the record haul
or even the bold planning

that makes the heist memorable.

These criminals
channeled Sherlock Holmes

and played a cat and mouse game
with Scotland Yard

and won in one
of history's greatest heists.

♪ ♪

[expl*si*n]