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Hatton Garden's 45-Year Grip: Adams Family's Shadow
3 Feb
Summary
- The Adams family has controlled Hatton Garden for 45 years.
- Terry Adams, the 'British Godfather', led extortion and drug trafficking.
- Recent jewel heists are suspected to be by foreign gangs targeting Dubai.
The Hatton Garden diamond district has been under the long-standing influence of the Adams crime family, also known as the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, for nearly 45 years. Led by Terry Adams, who earned the moniker 'British Godfather,' the syndicate engaged in widespread criminal activities including extortion and drug trafficking, reportedly even involvement in gangland killings.
Despite the principal brothers—Terry, Tommy, and Patrick—now being in their late sixties and seventies, their name still commands significant fear within the trade. Sources suggest their continued influence acts as a deterrent against theft in the area, with petty criminals reportedly avoiding the district due to the family's presence.
While the family's criminal careers began with extortion and robberies, they pivoted to drug trafficking by the mid-eighties. The syndicate is also believed to have laundered money through diamond merchants and other businesses. Patsy Adams was known for his brutality, allegedly pioneering the use of hit-men on motorbikes for assassinations.
Recent years have seen convictions for some members. Tommy Adams received a seven-year sentence in 2017, while Patsy was jailed for nine years in 2016. Terry Adams was imprisoned for money-laundering in 2007 and later ordered to repay significant sums of his criminal earnings.
However, some retired figures suggest the Adams family's street-level influence has waned considerably since the early 2000s. Meanwhile, Hatton Garden was the site of a major heist in 2015, with speculation that the Adams family may have been involved in orchestrating the operation, which targeted a specific vault.
Currently, London faces a wave of smash-and-grab raids on high-end stores, with recent incidents involving thousands of pounds worth of luxury items being stolen in areas like Richmond and Shepherds Bush. Foreign gangs, potentially from Albania and Romania, are suspected of carrying out such heists, with stolen goods reportedly destined for a black market in Dubai.
