Millennium Dome raid
The Millennium Dome raid was an attempted robbery 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 being held in the riverside Dome at the time. The gang had then planned to escape via the Thames in a speedboat.
| Millennium Dome Raid | |
|---|---|
| Location | Drawdock Road / Millennium Way, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE10 0BB, England |
| Date | 7 November 2000 |
| Target | De Beers Diamond Exhibition |
| Perpetrators |
|
The De Beers diamond exhibition had a number of 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 £358 million in 2021) 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 a number of unsuccessful armoured vehicle robberies. The operation to foil the robbery was the biggest operation undertaken in the Flying Squad's history and at trial the judge in the case commended the way it was carried out.
If the heist had succeeded, then with a haul of £350 million worth of diamonds (equivalent to £627 million in 2021), it would have become one of the biggest robberies in history.