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Jail for criminal family in £100m raids on stately homes
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent6 Aug 2008
Burglars who stole up to £100 million worth of art works and antiques from stately homes in the Home Counties and South-West have been jailed, it was revealed this afternoon.
The "ruthless and organised" gang were all connected to the same travelling family and the raids included Britain's biggest burglary - on property tycoon Harry Hyams's home in Wiltshire when antiques valued at £30million were stolen.
Another victim was the former Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Sir Philip Wroughton. He and his wife had £10,000 worth of antiques stolen when the gang burgled their country home, Woolley Park in Berkshire, twice in 12 months.
The gang committed more than 100 crimes between 2003 and 2006. All those jailed were either members or associates of the Johnson family - a criminal clan which has plagued the South for the last 20 years.
Fourteen men and one woman were jailed after a police investigation involving five different forces. The details can be revealed for the first time today after the last member of the gang admitted burglary at Guildford crown court.
The case concluded a series of trials involving offences ranging from burglary to thefts of metals and robberies of cash dispensers.
Five men were jailed for a series of burglaries including Ricky Johnson, 53, sentenced to eight years. Son Richard "Chad" Johnson, 32, got 11 years, and another son, Albie Johnson, 25, got nine years.
Daniel O'Loughlin, 32, a cousin of the family, and Michael Nicholls, 29, the partner of Ricky Johnson's daughter Faye, were both jailed for 11 years.
The court heard how the gang targeted country houses across Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. Many of the properties are open to the public and police say the gang "cased" them while posing as sightseers.
Based at a caravan park in Worcestershire, the gang plotted the raids with military precision. On one occasion two victims sat in their kitchen unaware the raid was taking place.
The "magnificent" country home of Mr Hyams, Ramsbury Manor near Marlborough, Wiltshire, was hit in February 2006. The reclusive tycoon, who built Centre Point in London, had a substantial collection of art works and antiquities. Around a third of the loot was later recovered in an underground bunker in a field - but the rest is believed to have been sold abroad. The first raid linked to the Johnson gang was at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire which is home to the Rothschild Collection and has been used for filming, including The Midsomer Murders and the film An Ideal Husband.
Five men wearing boiler suits and balaclavas carried out the night-time raid, stealing more than 100 precious snuff boxes and other pieces worth £5million.
Another target was Warneford Place, the former home of James Bond author Ian Fleming, set in 1,000 acres in Sevenhampton near Swindon and owned by Formula One advertising tycoon Paddy McNally.
For years the Johnsons considered themselves "untouchable" and at one time David Cameron, the MP for Witney, called for better police co-operation to target the gang.
The family's reputation was such that they featured in a BBC documentary called "Summer With The Johnsons" in which Alan "Jimmy" Johnson was termed the "king of the gypsies". He was jailed for four and a half years in 2006 for his part in a cash machine robbery but has since been released.
Chad Johnson, along with Danny O'Loughlin, were also among 12 people jailed for conspiracy to steal high value metals in raids on suppliers. Around £360,000 worth of steel, titanium and various alloys were stolen.
Chad Johnson was jailed for five years and three months while O'Loughlin got seven years.
Detective Superintendent Mark Warwick, from Thames Valley Police, who led the joint investigation, said today: "The convictions and results speak for themselves with the main gang members and associates in prison with long sentences. Most importantly, members of the public in the five police areas are now able to live without the fear of crime inflicted on them by this organised criminal network.
"In some cases the results of their gratuitous violence and threats inflicted on vulnerable people in their own homes has had an impact that the victims will never recover from."
Reader views (3)
Scum from traveller sites just pick & choose which parts of society they want to be a part of. They don't mind benefits, healthcare and cash in hand work but can't be bothered fitting in with everyone else. "Oh but its our lifestyle!" Keep them in their ghettos & don't let them out.
- George, Essex, 07/08/2008 02:24
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It's about time the criminal classes got smart and targeted the wealthy instead preying up on working people.
- Huggles, Tottenham, London, 06/08/2008 21:14
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Once again, career criminals are given pathetic sentences. They will be out in about five years. In my view, it is the duty of the state to put an end to the profession of crime for profit, and that means that people like these should be locked up for life.
- Oliver Chettle, Bedford, 06/08/2008 16:52
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