Where Are The Diamond Heist Thieves Now? All About Their Lives Since Attempting to Steal an Over $400 Million Jewel

The Millennium Dome raid was a heist with so many twists it could have been a Guy Ritchie movie — but now, it’s a Netflix docuseries executive produced by him.

The Diamond Heist, which premiered on April 16, follows the story of Lee Wenham, one of the masterminds behind what would have been one of the biggest jewel thefts in history.

In November 2000, Wenham and six others, often called the “Diamond Geezers,” attempted to steal the De Beers Millennium Star diamond, which boasts a whopping 203 carats and, according to the Netflix film, was worth an estimated £350 million — which translates to more than $462 million.

Unfortunately for Wenham and his team, the British police foiled their plan in an elaborate takedown chronicled in The Diamond Heist.

So, where are the thieves from The Diamond Heist now? Here’s everything to know about Lee Wenham and the rest of the Millennium Dome raid criminals today.

Who was involved in the Millennium Dome raid?

Ray Betson was considered the mastermind of the Millennium Dome heist. He drove the JCB excavator vehicle through the building’s perimeter and recruited most of the other players, according to The Guardian.

Before the heist, his rap sheet mainly consisted of selling illegal foreign imports. He got his first conviction at age 14 for burglary; before the infamous attempted theft, he had 18 total convictions and had spent three years in jail, per the British publication.

Wenham helped Betson plan the heist. In the docuseries, Wenham explained that he was pulled out of school when he was just 12 years old because his dyslexia made it difficult to read and write. At that point, he got into crime by working with his father, who was allegedly a local gangster.

Robert “Bob the Builder” Adams assisted by breaking through the protective glass housing the diamonds at the Millennium Dome with a sledgehammer, according to The Sun. But Adams was recruited for the heist just one day before it took place, per The Guardian.

He had one previous criminal conviction for stabbing his former best friend in the stomach after his friend allegedly had an affair with his wife. In The Diamond Heist, Wenham said that Adams was chosen for his perceived ability to get into the vault, adding, “He took the whole job like it was just another day of going to the office.”

William “Bill” Cockram used a nail gun to weaken the glass surrounding the diamond display, allowing Adams to break it with the sledgehammer more easily, per The Sun. Before the heist, he spent 15 months behind bars for various crimes. Captions in The Diamond Heist docuseries described Cockram as “the muscle,” chosen to deal with security guards in case of a fight.

Aldo Ciarrocchi, then 29, was the youngest member of the raid and the so-called “technician,” according to The Diamond Heist. He assisted by throwing smoke bombs as a distraction outside the vault.

Ciarrochi’s motive was allegedly romantic; he had reportedly fallen in love with American model Elisabeth Kirsch and spent lavishly on gifts for her. He allegedly planned to use the money he made in the heist on airfare to move to the United States to begin a new life with her.

Terence “Terry” Millman was the getaway driver. He had a criminal history that included armed robbery and a previous 14-year prison sentence. In the docuseries, Wenham described Millman as a “madman” who had no issues shooting someone if needed.

Kevin Meredith had no criminal record, having only borrowed money from Cockram to fix his boat. Four days before the raid, Cockram called in the favor, allegedly offering to pay Meredith £10,000 to drive the thieves away via boat on the Thames River.

How did the robbers get into the Millennium Dome?

Wenham revealed in The Diamond Heist that he and the “Diamond Geezers” noticed a lot of construction work going on around the area of the Millennium Dome. It gave them the idea to use a JCB — a bulldozer — to penetrate the steel gates and barriers around the venue.

“It’s basically a tank in disguise,” Wenham explained. “I knew the JCB was going to work, 100 percent.”

Wenham said he stole the vehicle and put it into a safehouse ahead of the heist.

How did The Diamond Heist thieves get caught?

For all their meticulous planning, the “Diamond Geezers” were at a disadvantage from the start: Someone tipped off police to the plan in the summer of 2000, BBC News reported, months before the heist took place that November.

That gave authorities and Millennium Dome staff plenty of time to prepare for the attempted robbery; they even named their plan “Operation Magician.”

That September, Wenham was caught on security cameras casing the Millennium Dome and Cockram and Betson were seen testing their getaway speedboat.

The day of the raid, 200 armed officers were at the Millennium Dome, many of them disguised as venue staff, according to The Guardian. The police deliberately didn’t try to stop the attempt, instead opting to follow the thieves as they tried to carry out the heist.

Knowing the theft would take place, the actual DeBeers diamonds had been replaced by worthless, fake replicas — so the “Diamond Geezers” never had their hands on the actual gems. Police opted to let the thieves into the vault, where they arrested Adams, Betson, Ciarrocchi and Wenham. They then apprehended Millman from a nearby van.

What were the sentences for the robbers in the Millennium Dome raid?

Millman died from stomach cancer on July 13, 2001, before the trial began, according to The Guardian. He was 57 years old and in hospice care at the time.

The remaining “Diamond Geezers” stood trial in November 2001.

Betson and Cockram were each sentenced to 18 years in prison for conspiracy to rob, with their sentences later being reduced to 15 years, per The Guardian.

Adams was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to rob. Ciarrocchi was also sentenced to 15 years behind bars, but got his time reduced to 12 years in a 2004 appeal.

Meredith was acquitted of a conspiracy to rob but convicted of conspiracy to steal. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Where are the thieves from The Diamond Heist now?

Adams died while serving his prison sentence, according to The Sun. Though Betson’s jail sentence for the Millennium Dome heist was reduced, he’s back in prison for a different robbery.

BBC News reported in August 2014 that he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for a botched attempt at robbing a cash depot. The attempted robbery took place in March 2012, with authorities finding his DNA on a balaclava left behind at the scene.

In 2018, The Sun reported that Betson’s son, Louis, was arrested for allegedly beating and robbing a cab driver in Kent, United Kingdom. He was sentenced to two years and three months at a juvenile detention center.

In 2012, Cockram sued police for giving him a black eye and fracturing his cheekbone during his arrest, The Evening Standard reported. Ciarrocchi has since made headlines for turning a skate park into a vacation home for his family, per The Times of London.

Where is Lee Wenham now?

Wenham told The Telegraph in 2025 that he was more stressed before his sentencing than he was once when actually went to prison.

“I thought about it a lot then, and I thought about what I would be leaving behind at home,” he explained, noting that he regretted missing years of his young daughters’ lives. “But as soon as I was sentenced, it was a big weight off my shoulders and it’s like, ‘Right, just get on with it.’ And I didn’t give it much thought after that, to be honest.”

In The Diamond Heist, Wenham said prison wasn’t actually that bad.

“People who haven’t been to prison fear prison, obviously. Everyone does, it’s the ultimate punishment in British law. But I found it okay, I’ve got to be honest,” he said. “I adapted very well, very quickly in prison, got on with a lot of people. I’m not boasting!”

Today, Wenham is the author of the autobiography A Diamond Geezer and a landscaper. Prior to the Netflix docuseries’ release, he told Rolling Stone U.K. that he was only recognized once for the heist since leaving prison.

Wenham has stayed out of legal trouble since his release, but he has returned to the scene of the crime at least once.

“I went to see Bryan Adams at The O2 with my partner a few years ago,” he recalled. “And walking up to the main doors was, well, I had to take a step back, you know. I found myself taking in the place all over again.”