3 men sentenced to over a century in prison after plot to kill a ringleader in UK's biggest heist

LONDON (AP) — Three men who plotted to termination a erstwhile cage fighter, who years earlier had been convicted of being 1 of the ringleaders successful the U.K.'s biggest-ever heist, were sentenced Friday to a corporate word of implicit a period successful prison.

The sentencing of the 3 men astatine London's Central Criminal Court, which is amended known arsenic the Old Bailey, brings to an extremity a six-year lawsuit that had the hallmarks of a movie transgression caper.

It progressive the metallic detector-assisted retrieval of an iPad from the River Thames successful the capital, arsenic good arsenic the theft of Ming-era porcelain from a depository successful Geneva and adjacent an attempted merchantability of the treasure successful Hong Kong.

Daniel Kelly, 46, and brothers Louis Ahearne, 36, and Stewart Ahearne, 46, were recovered blameworthy by a assemblage past period for conspiracy to execution Paul Allen, past 41, successful 2019.

Allen, who was near for dead, was paralyzed from the thorax down aft being changeable astatine his ample location successful Woodford Green, northeast London.

Judge Sarah Whitehouse sentenced Kelly to 36 years successful situation with an extended licence play of 5 years. Louis Ahearne was sentenced to 36 years successful situation portion Stewart Ahearne was sentenced to 30 years. They volition each service a minimum of two-thirds of their sentences earlier being eligible for parole.

The justice said the men were “motivated by a committedness of fiscal gain" successful their statement to execution Allen.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that the inheritance to the shooting was the information that Allen was a “sophisticated” vocation criminal. He was convicted successful 2009 for his portion 3 years earlier successful Britain’s biggest equipped robbery astatine a depot successful Kent, southeast England, successful which 54 cardinal pounds ($72 cardinal astatine existent prices) successful currency was stolen, overmuch of which has ne'er been recovered.

Prosecutors said the men had burgled the Museum of Far Eastern Art successful Geneva connected June 1, 2019, a period earlier Allen was shot.

Three pieces of Ming-era porcelain were taken from the museum, which had a combined security worth of astir $3.6 million. Investigators besides uncovered that the defendants flew to Hong Kong aboriginal that month, wherever they tried to merchantability 1 of the items they had stolen — a phoenix vessel — astatine an auction house.

Jurors heard however elements of that transgression echoed with the shooting of Allen, including the usage of a Renault Captur prosecute vehicle.

The lawsuit against the 3 men was fixed further impetus with the find successful Nov. 2024 of an iPad successful the River Thames that was utilized to way the movements of Allen earlier helium was shot.

“This onslaught whitethorn look similar the crippled to a Hollywood blockbuster but the world is thing rather different,” said Detective Superintendent Matt Webb of the Metropolitan Police, who led the investigation. "This was horrific criminality."