Jewellery thief Peter O’Halloran jailed for 12 years

Cambridgeshire Police raided Peter O’Halloran’s home in Suffolk, in November last year, after linking him to burglaries across the county as well as Northamptonshire and Norfolk. 

Inside his home and concealed within a desk they found around £60,000 in cash as well as coins worth up to £80,000, watches and bags of gems, all believed to be worth more than half a million pounds. 

CCTV captured Peter O’Halloran on a ladder during one of the burglaries. (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)In O’Halloran’s bedroom there was a book titled ‘Confessions of a Master Jewellery Thief’ and elsewhere in the house were books about antiques, fine metals, jewellery and gems. 

The 49-year-old was caught after leaving his DNA on a ladder he used to break into a property in Guilden Morden, near Royston, on March 4, 2022. 

He stole the ladder from a nearby property and was captured on CCTV walking around the boundary of the home, using it to peer through windows. He then broke in and took jewellery and watches. 

Officers from Cambridgeshire then went on to identify O’Halloran in CCTV images from a burglary in Northamptonshire in January 2019 where heirlooms worth around £700,000 were stolen. 

Police released images of the cash recovered from O’Halloran's property. (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)At Cambridge Crown Court on November 17, O’Halloran, of Gardeners Road, Debenham, Stowmarket, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to the Guilden Morden burglary as well as the burglary in Northamptonshire and a third in Norfolk. 

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A further nine burglaries across five counties were taken into consideration.

Four of these took place in the Cambridgeshire villages of Waresley, Newton and two in Brington, near Huntingdon, between January and November 2022.

Watches, cash, coins and gems were among the items police found when O'Halloran's property was raided. (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)Det Con Lisa Bacon, from South Cambridgeshire’s burglary team, said: “I hope this sentence provides some closure to all of the victims affected by his criminality.” 

Police recovered items hidden within a desk at O’Halloran 's property. (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)Police released images of items recovered from O’Halloran's property. (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)