Men guilty over Ashley Cole raid and £3.5m Portland Tiara heist

Several men have been convicted for their parts in a raid at ex-footballer Ashley Cole's home and a £3.5m heist.

Mr Cole and his partner Sharon Canu were bound by cable ties when they were robbed at their home in January 2020.

The Portland Tiara, described as a "national treasure", was stolen from its glass case at the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire in November 2018.

One man was convicted over the violent raid at Mr Cole's home, with three guilty over the theft of the tiara.

In total, six men were convicted for their roles in a string of "ruthlessly executed" robberies and burglaries between October 2018 and January 2020, following a 10-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

In a police interview shown during the trial, the former England, Chelsea and Arsenal left-back broke down when detailing how the gang tied his hands while he was holding his daughter.

The gang also threatened to cut Mr Cole's fingers off with pliers, the court heard.

"I knew now, I am going to die," he said.

The court was told Kurtis Dilks was the only one of the four-strong gang responsible for the robbery to be caught after his DNA was recovered on the cable ties used to restrain Mr Cole and his partner.

The 35-year-old courier claimed his DNA was found on the cable ties and a knife recovered from the scene in Fetcham, Surrey, because they were items previously stolen from his van.

As well as the attack on Mr Cole, Dilks was found guilty of conspiring to rob the wife of former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tom Huddlestone in May 2019 with fellow defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew MacDonald.

Dilks, Cumberpatch and MacDonald were also convicted of being part of the theft of the £3.5m tiara worn to the coronation of Edward VII from the Harley Gallery on the Welbeck Estate in Worksop.

Sentencing is due to take place on 15 July.

Watches, mobile phones, cash, a Gucci bag, headphones and a BMW smart key were stolen during the break-in at Mr Cole's house, the court was told.

Prosecutor Michael Brady QC told the jurors the ex-footballer had just settled down to watch a film on Netflix when he heard a noise "vibrating up the walls".

He told his partner to call the police, which she did while hiding in a wardrobe.

Mr Brady said: "The next thing Ms Canu knew was when one of the robbers opened the wardrobe door and took the phone from her while she was talking to the police.

"Ms Canu followed the intruder and was directed wordlessly by the man who had taken her phone to the bedroom where Mr Cole was.

"She then saw Mr Cole on his knees with his hands tied behind his back."

Jurors at the trial were shown CCTV footage from Mr Cole's home which showed the ex-footballer, wearing just his boxer shorts, being led up and down the stairs by the robbers.

The court heard when Mr Cole insisted he had no jewellery or watches, one of the intruders squeezed the back of his neck and Ms Canu was threatened with a knife.

One of the group moved to use pliers on Mr Cole's fingers but the men were then alerted to police arriving and fled the scene.

Cumberpatch, Dilks and MacDonald were all found guilty of their part in the theft of the Portland Tiara, which has never been recovered.

The trial heard the theft of the tiara and its associated brooch was a "shocking event" and they will never again be seen in their original state.

The 6th Duke of Portland commissioned Cartier to create the tiara for his wife Winifred, Duchess of Portland, who wore it to the coronation of King Edward, the Queen's great-grandfather, in 1902.

Police said the thieves drove a stolen Audi RS across fields before using specialist industrial saws to cut through a reinforced glass window.

In total the raid took less than eight minutes.

Cumberpatch and MacDonald were also convicted alongside jewellers Tevfik Guccuk and Sercan Evsin, and co-defendant Christopher Yorke, of converting criminal property following the theft.

The prosecution told jurors the items were passed to professional handlers Guccuk and Evsin, who were tasked with selling them.

The court heard it is thought the tiara and brooch were taken out of the country by Guccuk to his native Turkey after they were dropped off at an "ostensibly legitimate jewellery business", Paris Jewels, in Hatton Garden, London, in November 2018.

The breakthrough in the case came when detectives connected Go-Pro footage of the Harley Gallery, seized from Cumberpatch's home in October 2017, with the theft.

The prosecution was able to prove the footage demonstrated a reconnaissance attempt by the 37-year-old "in plain sight".

At the time the footage was seized, detectives were investigating Cumberpatch for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence following the discovery of a sawn-off shotgun found in a 95-year-old woman's garden.

The trial also heard evidence from the wife of former Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County midfielder Tom Huddlestone, who said she feared she would be killed by masked robbers at their Nottinghamshire home in May 2019.

Joanna Dixon described how she was bound with cable ties as the men stole an FA Cup medal, a £121,000 engagement ring and watches.

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