Brian Reader and the Diamond Wheezers: The Geriatric Jewel Thieves | 177

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Brian Reader made his name as “The Guv’nor” in the 1960s and 70s by pulling off daring, Ocean’s Eleven-style heists that turned him into a tabloid sensation. By the 2010s, his glory days were long gone – but when the lure of one final big score proved irresistible, Reader and a crew of aging criminals plotted one last job over Easter weekend in 2015. But the heist that was meant to cement their legend instead turned into a tabloid spectacle – and the downfall of a man who couldn’t leave his past behind.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, scam influencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are, you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams. Add free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details. Don't just listen. Immerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus. Sachi, you are a woman of many skills.
0:29.1	Yeah. You're welcome. What role would you take in like an Ocean's 11 type of
0:35.5	heights? Like what would your role be in the group, do you think?
0:38.9	Honeypot.
0:40.0	Oh, my God.
0:41.2	Just a sparkling smile to distract a security card.
0:44.5	Oh, boys.
0:45.9	Like that.
0:46.9	Yeah, I'm sure you would not be like, hey, wait a second.
0:50.4	Ew.
0:51.3	To like it.
0:52.0	I would love to do it.
0:53.7	Well, I would be kind of equally useless. I think my job would be
0:57.8	more of like a personality, higher, good vibe to motivate my fellow criminals. If you and I found
1:04.7	one smart person, we would probably do crime. It's a good thing you and I are both too dumb to do it
1:09.1	on our own. Yeah. Well, I'm about to tell
1:11.9	you the story of a heist that made international headlines, not just because it was cinematic as
1:17.9	hell, but because it was pulled off by the last people you'd ever expect. Cranky old men.
1:28.8	It's a Thursday evening in April of 2015, the start of Easter weekend.
1:34.7	Brian Reader is riding the bus towards London's Hat and Garden, a commercial district at the heart of the UK's diamond industry.
1:42.3	Brian is a 76-year-old British man with a long face and thin white
1:46.4	hair. He's wearing a dashing outfit complete with a colorful striped scarf and striped socks,
	...

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