4 days Ago By Yahoo TV UK
Guy Ritchie is known for his love for gangsters, crime capers and high octane heists, so it is unsurprising The Diamond Heist is his first foray into true crime as producer. Netflix 's new docuseries charts one of the biggest attempted heists of the 21st Century when, during the Millennium celebrations, a group attempted to steal the legendary Millennium Star. Their story is detailed in the new documentary and definitely has all the things that make a Ritchie movie.
Here is everything that you need to know about the real life event. The Diamond Heist true story In 2000, to mark the turn of the century the government decided to put some unused docklands to good use by building a tent-like dome, which was dubbed the Millennium Dome (and has since been renamed the O2 arena). There an exhibition was held to celebrate the millennium, which included the De Beers diamond exhibit.
De Beers exhibited some of their most valuable precious stones at the exhibition, including the 203.04-carat diamond the Millennium Star which was worth £200m at the time. Security measures were put in place to ensure that the diamonds were safe from thieves, including cameras, motion sensors, an impregnable glass exterior, and a vault door which was locked everyday at the same time.
Ray Betson came up with a plan for the heist, and he approached colleague Lee Wenham to put a team together and come up with a plan of action. The plan soon came together, the group would strike in the morning and use a powerful building tool known as a Hilti gun to break through the glass housing the diamonds. Shortly after that the gang would escape the Millennium Dome by speedboat, with local fisherman ready to help them travel across the Thames swiftly and without detection.
The job seemed easy, but the police were onto the group. An elite unit known as the Flying Squad, who had worked on the Brinks-Mat Robbery, had received a tip-off and made preparations to intercept the group when they attempted to strike. On 7 November, 2000 the group struck but the police were ready, with two hundred officers stationed around the dome and disguised as employees.
The diamonds had also been secretly swapped for fakes. In the end the group were caught and arrested, including Wenham who was not at the Millennium Dome for the heist but in charge of getting rid of evidence. The gang were tried shortly after, with Betson receiving an 18 year sentence and Wenham receiving a nine-year sentence.
Where is Lee Wenham now? Wenham has been released from prison after serving half his sentence, and he features in The Diamond Heist docuseries. He has also spoken frankly about the heist and his experience in prison. He told The Telegraph that he received a lot more "respect" after the attempted robbery both in and out of prison, but that he ultimately will not return to his former criminal life.
He said: "There’s no drink, there’s no drug, there’s nothing that compares to it. It is something else: I can’t even explain the feeling. It’s just better than anything.
"And I’ve got to be honest, there are times where I walk out into the garden on my own, everybody’s inside talking, and I think, ‘Cor, I wish I was doing something now.’ It can just happen, because life does sometimes get a bit boring – but I’ve not done it!” When asked about whether he had any regrets, Wenham said: “Obviously not getting away with it, I’d have rather had it that way. The only [other] regret really was the effect it had on my family and my children.
Being absent for four-and-a-half, five years of their lives." The Diamond Heist premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, 16 April..
