Ashley Cole among victims of high-value robberies, court hears

A trial has heard that a tiara worth 3.5 million dollars was stolen from football players.

When Mr Cole and Sharon Canu were robbed at their home in January 2020, they were bound by cable ties.

Ms Canu was threatened with a knife while their two young children were present.

A total of 11 people have been charged.

Mr Cole and Ms Canu were allegedly robbed by only one person.

Most of the charges relate to the theft of the Portland tiara.

Michael Brady said the crimes were extremely serious, high profile, carefully planned and at times brutally executed.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of property was stolen on some occasions.

The presence of householders did not deter these defendants. They had weapons and the means to subdue them. The presence of children did not bother them.

Mr Brady said that Mr Cole shouted at the robbers when he saw them trying to enter his house using a ladder, but they were not deterred by his presence.

Mr Brady said that Ms Canu hid in a wardrobe with her son and that one of the robbers found her and took her phone.

Mr Brady said that their daughter was standing next to Mr Cole.

Mr Brady said that Ms Canu was frightened because one of the men had a huge hammer which was used to smash bi-fold doors.

He said that Ms Canu initially refused to have her hands bound as she was worried she wouldn't be able to look after the children.

He said Ms Canu complied after one of the men threatened her with a knife in front of her children.

The court was told that the men were threatening to torture Mr Cole and cut his fingers.

Mr Brady said the robbers took property including five designer watches and a couple of mobile phones when police arrived.

The court heard that the Portland tiara had been stolen more than a year ago.

It was taken along with a diamond-encrusted brooch, which had a value of about 3.75 million.

Mr Brady told jurors that it was difficult to overstate the importance and cultural value of the jewellery.

Other works of art that formed part of the same collection included masterpieces by Michelangelo, van Dyck, Stubbs and a pearl earring worn by Charles I at his execution.

The tiara and brooch are thought to have been broken up for the jewels.

Mr Brady said that the theft is a shocking event and that they will never be seen again.

The tiara and brooch were on display at the Harley Gallery.

Two people are accused of planning the break-in when they visited the gallery with their children.

They filmed around the gallery using a camera.

Cumberpatch can be heard saying, "That's nice, I proper like that," while moving up and down the glass case that held the Portland tiara.

Later on, while filming outside, he can be heard saying: "I'm going to look around at the sheep in a minute, so it looks like I'm filming everything."

She said that she was doing it on purpose so it looked like she was filming you.

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