Video appears to show thieves in London diamond heist
Update: New images of the Hatton Garden burglary scene were released on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 by Flying Squad detectives who continue to investigate the crime. Click here to view them.
British police are hunting a daring gang of thieves who looted a heavily protected depository in London's jewelry district. The good news for investigators is that part of the action was caught on security tape. CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports from London.
Like something out of "Ocean's 11," the gang planned this heist down to every last detail, except, apparently, disabling the security cameras. It has emerged that British police could have, and probably should have, caught them in the act.
A man in a yellow hard hat that can be seen in the video is thought to be one of the thieves. And, it appears they used a blue garbage can (that the man leans on) to get the heavy tools in and precious booty out of the crime scene.
The Daily Mirror newspaper got hold of the alleged security camera footage of the diamond heist. Scotland Yard hasn't commented on it.
But no doubt, it shows the work of professionals, said former Senior Detective Barry Phillips.
"The size of the equipment, the lifting of it, the various types of equipment they had, it would have taken a number of people to manhandle it and operate it, never mind the experience that would be required and the expertise," Phillips said.
And while police don't yet know who done it, this is how they think they did it.
With no forced entry, the thieves disabled an elevator on the third floor. Then, they lowered themselves down the shaft by rope. Below street level, they used an industrial drill to bore through a six-foot-thick wall.
They squeezed in and busted open around 70 safety deposit boxes.
"The scene still remains chaotic down there," Chief Detective Paul Johnson said earlier this week. "The vault is covered in dust and debris, and the floor is strewn with discarded safety deposit boxes, numerous power tools."
An intruder alarm was activated last Friday night. Scotland Yard said they got the call, but someone decided that no police response was required.
Diamond dealers are understandably furious, especially reading the Daily Mirror reports that the bandits made several visits to the site over the four-day Easter holiday weekend.
There have been no arrests, and each day the trail grows colder. A former chief detective CBS News spoke to said it looks like an inside job on some level. There was no forced entry, and they knew a lot about the layout of the building and its weaknesses. As far as getting the loot out of the country, he said it would be a "doddle."