How an iPad buried in the banks of the River Thames led to the jailing of a gang who tried to murder one of Britain's most notorious robbers
Detectives vowed to leave no stone unturned in their bid to solve the attempted assassination of one of Britain's most notorious robbers.
But in reality, officers had to dig a little deeper to find the clue that would crack the case.
Buried for five years under an inch of sand on the stony shores of River Thames, this battered mud-smeared iPad would lead to the downfall of a brutal gang who carried out a £2.8million heist before becoming hitmen.
Today three men were jailed for a total of 104 years for conspiracy to murder Paul Allen, a member of the infamous Securitas gang who stole £54million from a Kent cash depot in Britain's biggest robbery in 2006, much of which has never been recovered.
The 41-year-old former cage fighter was left paralysed after being shot in the neck in 2019 by Daniel Kelly, 46, and brothers Stewart, 46, and Louis Ahearne, 36.
The Old Bailey heard that the gang 'very nearly succeeded' in their plan, but they did not count on the tenacity of detectives who spent six years unravelling their international web of crimes which included a £2.8million burglary at a Swiss museum to steal a Ming dynasty vase, a jewellery raid in Japan and a Kent break-in.
Now following their sentence today, the extraordinary story of how the gang were brought to justice can be told.
'This attack may look like the plot to a Hollywood blockbuster,' Detective Superintendent Matthew Webb said.
The gang's iPad recovered from the River Thames
Daniel Kelly (pictured) was part of the gang who launched the vicious attack
'But the reality is something quite different. This was horrific criminality.'
The trio planned the shooting carefully, carrying out surveillance and fitting a tracker device to the victim's car before dumping an iPad they used in the Thames.
At 11pm on July 11, 2019 the gunmen snuck into a garden overlooking Allen's rented home in Woodford, East London, which belonged to comedian Russell Kane
Six shots were fired through the back doors and windows, striking Allen in the neck as he stood in the kitchen, but incredibly he survived the attack.
Later, police managed to trace gang's getaway car through ANPR cameras.
Stewart Ahearne left his DNA behind when he scraped his stomach breaking through the front door of the museum
Louis Ahearne let slip in a defence case statement ahead of his trial that he had stopped near the Thames for 'some air' on the night of Allen's shooting.
They discovered the same car rented by Stewart Ahearne in his own name, was used in a break-in in Kent two nights earlier.
When they arrested the three men, police discovered at Kelly's home a gun laser sight and a book on Chinese antiques kept in European museums.
Detectives then linked the gang to a £2.8million raid at Geneva's Museum of Far Eastern Art, where they stole two Ming dynasty bowls and a vase six weeks before the shooting.
Stewart Ahearne left his DNA behind when he scraped his stomach breaking through the front door of the museum.
Undercover police then set up a sting capturing Stewart Ahearne attempting to sell the 13th Century Ming vase inside a JD Sports bag at a London hotel in October 2020.
Officers were also able to link Kelly to the robbery of a Tokyo jewellery store in 2015.
A casing found in the garden after the shooting
Bullet holes found in the kitchen door after the shooting
The final breakthrough in the case came after Louis let slip in a defence case statement ahead of his trial that he had stopped near the Thames for 'some air' on the night of Allen's shooting.
Officers decided to search the area near the O2 arena and a metal detector revealed a buried iPad, which despite years under the water still had a working SIM card.
Data from the device showed the gang had tailed Allen the day before the shooting and it also revealed Kelly's email account used to buy burner phones connected with the murder plot.
Furious, Kelly was overheard telling Louis Ahearne in a prison van: 'How is the snitch life treating you, Lou?'
Today Judge Sarah Whitehouse, KC, sentenced Kelly to 36 years in prison with an extended licence period of five years while she jailed Louis Ahearne for 33 years and Stewart Ahearne for 30 years.
She said: 'I have no doubt that this agreement to murder Paul Allen involved other people apart from the three of you and that you three were motivated by a promise of financial gain.'
Detective Superintendent Matt Webb said: 'The message here to those engaging in serious and organised crime is one I want to make very clear – the Metropolitan Police will not tolerate serious violence and the use of firearms in our communities; we will leave no stone unturned in bringing you to justice.'
