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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Rebecca Sherdley

Bid launched to claw back cash after raid at former England footballer's home and £3.75m heist

Prosecutors are chasing any cash or assets amassed by vicious raider Kurtis Dilks from Clifton after he was convicted for his part in a terrifying raid at the home of former England left back Ashley Cole and his partner. On Monday (April 3) a further hearing was arranged at Nottingham Crown Court to take place on July 28, ahead of the proceeds of crime hearing on September 25.

It comes after Dilks failed last week in a bid to reduce his 30-year jail term at a Court of Appeal hearing in London. The 35-year-old, of Whitegate Vale, now faces his assets and financial footprint scrutinised, along with others who also faced trial on other matters under the umbrella of the same police investigation.

Proceeds of Crime Applications are being drawn up on Dilks and five others convicted at trial in July 2022. They were defendants Andrew MacDonald, Ashley Cumberpatch, Christopher Yorke, Tevfik Guccuk, and Sercan Evsin.

READ MORE: Gang hear fate after £3.5m tiara theft and raids on footballers including Ashley Cole

More than four million pounds worth of stolen property went through a Hatton Garden jewellers and only some of it has been recovered.

Dilks was found guilty of robbing Cole and his partner Sharon Canu, as well as being part of a conspiracy to rob the home of former Tottenham and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone with co-defendants Ashley Cumberpatch, 36, formerly of First Avenue, Carlton, and Andrew MacDonald, 42, of Berridge Road West, The Arboretum.

The headline sentence for Dilks was 30 years with a five-extended period on licence for the horrific offending at the home of Cole. Cole had said in a victim impact statement, "the attack on my home, my family and me, and the situation it created, has led to a large range of emotions".

Ashley Cumberpatch (Nottinghamshire Police)

Judge James Sampson had told Dilks, a convicted burglar, he and his team had smashed their way into the home of Cole and his partner and tied them up and threatened to cut off Cole's finger with pliers. "You made him think he was going to die," added the judge. "You targeted him because of his perceived wealth."

Andrew MacDonald pictured in his custody photo (Nottinghamshire Police)

Dilks was also part of a conspiracy to rob the home of former Tottenham and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone with co-defendants Cumberpatch and MacDonald when Huddlestone's wife was tied up at home alone.

Dilks was found guilty of 13 charges against him, including his role in a jewellery heist plot to steal a £3.5m tiara from the Harley Gallery, at the Welbeck Estate.

PICTURED: Tevfik Guccuk. (Marie Wilson/Nottinghamshire Live)

Following a 13-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court, gang members were found guilty on July 8. Cumberpatch, MacDonald and Dilks were all found guilty of conspiracy to burgle at the Harley Gallery, which they denied. This was an extensively-planned heist with military precision involving the theft of the historic Portland Tiara and diamond brooch from an armoured glass display.

The judge said the £3.75m haul was culturally priceless and described it as, "a heinous act on the country's heritage". The headline offence for both Cumberpatch and MacDonald (which also involved Dilks) was a conspiracy to rob a couple's home in Burton Avenue, Carlton. They wore masks and went in armed with knives and other weapons.

PICTURED: Sercan Evsin (Marie Wilson/Nottinghamshire Live)

MacDonald cut part of the terrified householder's ear off and threatened to cut off his thumb. He was beaten and threatened with death before he was bundled into a car and taken to his mother's home where her jewellery and Rolex watch were stolen.

Cumberpatch's overall sentence was 24 years in jail and five years on extended licence, while MacDonald received 32 years - 27 years in prison and five on extended licence.

Cumberpatch, MacDonald and co-defendants Christopher Yorke, 49, of Rose Ash Lane, Arnold, Tevfik Guccuk, 39 of Houndsden Road, Southgate, London; and Sercan Evsin, 25, of Meadow Close, Barnett, were also found guilty of converting criminal property in relation to the stolen items.

Yorke, a lorry driver, who was recruited to provide transport for MacDonald, received 12 months in prison, suspended for 21 months, with 21 hours of unpaid work. Guccuk and Evsin, both jewellers with no convictions, were sentenced to seven years and five years respectively.

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