Jury in €325m gems case resumes deliberations

The Old Bailey jury trying five men accused of plotting to snatch £200m (€325m) worth of diamonds from the Millennium Dome was returning to court today to continue considering their verdicts.

They were sent home for a second night after failing to reach verdicts on Tuesday. The court did not sit on Wednesday.

The prosecution has alleged that the gang intended to snatch the stones by smashing their way into the Dome on a earth mover and escape across the river Thames by a speed boat.

Aldo Ciarrocchi, 32, of Balaclava Road, Bermondsey, south east London; Raymond Betson, 40, of Chatham, Kent; William Cockram, 49, from Catford, south east London; and Robert Adams, 57, of no fixed address, all deny conspiracy to rob.

They have admitted a lesser charge of conspiring to steal.

The fifth man, Kevin Meredith, 34, of Aucklands Drive, Brighton, denies both conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to steal.