The
Millennium Dome raid was an attempted
robbery of the
Millennium Dome's diamond exhibition in
Greenwich,
South East London occurring on 7 November 2000. A local gang planned to ram-raid the De Beers diamond exhibition which was being held in the dome at the time. The gang had then planned to escape via the
Thames in a speedboat. The
De Beers diamond exhibition had a number of jewels on display including the
Millennium Star, a flawless gem with an estimated worth of £200 million and considered one of the most perfect gems in the world. Also on display were priceless blue diamonds. The attempted robbery was foiled by the
Flying Squad of the
Metropolitan Police Service, who already had the gang members under surveillance for their suspected roles in a number of unsuccessful armoured vehicle robberies. The operation to foil the robbery was the biggest operation undertaken in the Flying Squad's history and at trial the judge in the case commended the way it was carried out.