"We’re amazed you found us", said UK's biggest thieves

In a dramatic conclusion to what officers described as a series of daring heists straight out of "a Hollywood movie" Scotland Yard finally caught up with the thieves behind Britain's biggest burglary.

The internationally hunted gang greeted detectives when they were extradited from Italy by saying they were "amazed that you found us." The thieves targeted the homes of celebrities including Tamara Ecclestone, former footballer Frank Lampard and the late former Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and made off with more than £26 million in cash and jewellery.

Det Con Andrew Payne said: "All three summarised something to the same effect that they were 'amazed that you found us'. They believed they were untouchable. The plots are comparable to a Hollywood movie but unfortunately this was real life, involving real victims who suffered greatly."

The gangs' string of burglaries took place through December 2019, culminating with the theft at the Ecclestones' mansion in Palace Green, Kensington, while the couple were in Lapland with their daughter and dog. In what is believed to have been the UK's biggest domestic burglary, hundreds of items of jewellery, cash, diamonds and precious stones worth £25 million were taken from the 2,000 sq ft property which is spread over six floors.

Italians. 24-year-old Jugoslav Jovanovic, 45-year-old Alessandro Maltese, and 44-year-old Alessandro Donati were cornered in Milan following a manhunt that started with just a few seconds of grainy CCTV footage of the suspects. After their arrests, all three were extradited from Italy and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burglary.

Following the trio's sentencing at Isleworth Crown Court, police described how the gang thought they were "untouchable" until officers caught up with them last year. Maltese and Donati were each given eight years and nine months in prison, while Jovanovic also admitted conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of attempting to convert criminal property and was jailed for 11 years.

In earlier raids, the gang made off with around £60,000 in watches and jewellery stolen from the Lampards' home on Dec 1 while they were out of the Chelsea property. On Dec 10, the gang targeted Srivaddhanaprabha's Knightsbridge home, which had been turned into a shrine by his family following the 60-year-olds death in a helicopter crash shortly after take-off from Leicester's King Power Stadium.

More than £1 million in property was stolen including a Tag Heuer watch he was wearing before he left for Leicester that day. The burglars even popped a £500 bottle of Cristal champagne to drink as they carried out the raid and later celebrated with a £760 sushi meal in Knightsbridge restaurant Zuma. Det Con Payne said the thieves believed they had got away "scot-free" following the raids and "clearly enjoyed their newfound wealth". Jovanovic and his uncle were later spotted on CCTV in Harrods, spending thousands of pounds and signing up for loyalty cards using fake names.

Detectives started out with only a 15-second grainy CCTV clip of the men entering the Ecclestones' back garden, from which they could deduce the gang had taken an unidentified black cab to the address. Officers then had to trace 1,007 black cabs in the vicinity of Kensington at that time and only found the cabbie used by the burglars' on the 1,004th attempt.

After scouring through hours of footage, officers traced Jovanovic to a south London hotel. From there, they were able to retrace his movements and identify his accomplices. Maltese was even spotted on CCTV stealing a packet of chewing gum from a kiosk in Victoria train station on his way to burgle Ms Ecclestone's home.

"The gang just couldn't help themselves, they wanted it all," said Det Con Payne.

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