Jewellery thief jailed again for failing to pay back proceeds of England's biggest heist

LONDON (Reuters) - One of a gang of ageing criminals who audaciously raided a safe-deposit business in England’s biggest-ever burglary will spend more time in jail after failing to pay back over 6 million pounds.

FILE PHOTO: The undated arrest booking picture of Daniel Jones is seen after it was handed out by the Metropolitan Police. Jones was today sentenced to 7 years in prison for his role in the multi-million pound Hatton Garden robbery. REUTERS/Metropolitan Police/Handout via Reuters

The gang ransacked 73 deposit boxes at the Hatton Garden Safety Deposit building in the London jewellery district three years ago, stealing gold, silver, diamonds and jewellery worth 14 million pounds. Two-thirds of the haul was not recovered.

Daniel Jones, 63, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2016, and on Tuesday he was given another six years and 287 days after failing to pay 6.6 million pounds, comprising his part of a joint confiscation order and his other assets.

“Daniel Jones gained millions of pounds of criminal cash from the Hatton Garden burglary,” Heather Chalk of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement.

“The CPS showed the court that Jones had the funds to pay back his ill-gotten gains and today we have successfully argued that his default sentences should be activated.”

Jones, along with other gang-members Brian Reader, John Collins and Terry Perkins, were given a joint confiscation order of 6.4 million pounds, plus extra sums dependent on their personal circumstances.

Perkins died in jail in February, and the CPS said that it would take steps to recover funds from his estate.

Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison

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