The gang was caught finally
In 1923, one notorious member of the gang Maggie Hughes was finally caught while stealing a tray containing thirty-four diamond rings.
Following her arrest, detectives stepped up their operations and struck pay dirt in 1925 when they finally caught Alice Diamond. Alice was subsequently jailed and the gang was left leaderless.
After Alice, their power and influence began to slip away as more and more members of their gang were either killed in encounters or imprisoned. The gang began to wither away and their robbery prowess drastically declined due to the hi-tech store security measures that began to be put in place by the 1950s. Their business thus became more dangerous and less profitable leading to a gradual exodus in the gang.
As for Alice, she contracted multiple sclerosis and died at the age of 55 in 1952. The Forty Elephants eventually faded away but left behind an infamous legacy of an all-women notorious gang that held their own in the cruel male-dominated world of London’s underworld.
As Brian MacDonald aptly sums up their entire story.
“The girls feared no one, they were all well-built and strong and could fight as well as any man.”
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