Police are believed to have identified one of the men behind the jewel heist in Hatton Garden, as it was revealed the gang could have been inspired by similar robberies in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Officers from Scotland Yard's Flying Squad released images of three  suspects on Saturday, but refused to release a picture of the supposed ringleader, likely because he has already been identified. Meanwhile criminologist Richard Hoskins said he has identified 'startling similarities' between the Hatton Garden raid and novel Black Echo, by Michael Connelly. Scroll down for video . Police are believed to have identified one of the Hatton Garden raiders after releasing CCTV images of the gang as they raided the bank vault over the Easter bank holiday . Officers released images of three of the men, but refused to release an images of the supposed ringleader, which is believed to be because he has already been identified . The novel was based on real-life bank robbers dubbed 'The Hole In The Ground Gang' who struck three vaults in LA in 1986 and 1987, and were never caught. In the 1986 robbery, the gang tunneled into a bank vault over a long weekend, triggering alarms on the Friday that were not investigated, before raiding safety deposit boxes stored inside the vaults. It was not until the week following the raids that police were called and discovered the robbers had dug into the vault using heavy machinery, in very similar circumstances to the Hatton Garden raid. Criminologist Richard Hoskins noticed 'striking similarities' between the Hatton Garden raid and crime novel Black Echo, which itself is based on two jewel heists in LA in the 1980s . Mr Hoskins, who also wrote murder novel The Boy in the River, told MailOnline: 'There is obviously a lot we don't know about the Hatton Garden heist, but on the surface they look very similar. 'I think that when the raiders were planning their heist they must have read this book, or researched the robberies in LA. 'While the robbery is obviously terrible for the victims, I think everyone can agree that this was a very smart operation, and Black Echo sets out a very smart way to rob a vault. 'The timeline fits almost exactly, right down to the alarm being set off on a Friday and the break in being discovered on a Tuesday.' The Hole In The Ground Gang first struck in 1986, when they tunneled underneath a First Interstate Bank located along famous Sunset Boulevard near Hollywood, in LA. The gang, believed to number around four or five, made a hole in the wall of a storm drain underneath LA's streets, before tunneling 100ft through the dirt, emerging underneath the bank vault. They then used concrete drills and saws to cut a 20ft-by-25ft hole in the floor of the vault, before clambering through and ransacking the safety deposit boxes. In total they got away with $270,000 in cash, along with the contents of 36 deposit boxes, worth up to $2.5million. One box contained a sketch of a young girl by Henri Matisse. The crew had stashed quadbikes underground for a quick escape, but the raid was in fact not discovered until the start of the following week when staff arrived to find the vault ransacked. Police then discovered the tunnel, littered with 'an enormous number' of polystyrene coffee cups, and surmised that the raiders were probably sewer or construction workers who had decided to turn their skills to a sinister new use. Nobody was ever traced for the crime, and in 1987 the same group struck again, this time at a Bank of America in another LA neighbourhood. In both Hatton Garden and the LA raids, the gangs bored into vaults using heavy drills (pictured), broke in over a long weekend, set off an alarm on the Friday that wasn't checked out, and raided safety deposit boxes . The LA raiders became known as the Hole In The Ground Gang, and Mr Hoskins believes the group who raided Hatton Garden (picutred) must have known about them, or read the book inspired by them . Again, the group had used heavy tools to cut their way into a bank vault over the course of a weekend, and again they had set off an alarm on their way in. However, on this occasion police did respond, and they were forced to flee with just $89,000 and without cracking a single safety deposit box. It was only afterwards the officers discovered another tunnel underneath Union Federal Savings and Loan in Beverly Hills, suggesting the gang were attempting to hit two vaults at once. Mr Connelly told The Times: 'The Black Echo was a fictionalised account of a bank heist that occurred in LA in September 1987. It was never solved.' In the Hatton Garden raid, the Met Police have said the raiders broke into the building on the second floor, disabling the lift before lowering themselves down the shaft and breaking into the basement. The men then climbed back up to the ground floor to let other gang members in through a side entrance, before all making their way to the vaults where they drilled their way inside. The raiders then broke into 72 safety deposit boxes, before making their getaway in a white Ford Transit van parked outside. The diamond-tipped drills were taken from a building site in Fetter Lane, an eight minute walk from Hatton Garden, and nobody was ever arrested. Police are probing the thefts of several drills in the months before the raid, including two Hilti drills that were taken near Hatton Garden. DCI Paul Johnson (pictured) has previously said Hilti drills were used in the raid . City of London Police also confirmed today that they have passed information to Scotland Yard about the theft of two Hilti drills, the same devices used in the Hatton Garden raid, in December last year. In another development, The Sun has revealed that £80,000 worth of diamond tipped drills were stolen from another site in South London in November, using a van similar to that at Hatton Garden. Andrew Royce, of Elmcrest Diamond Drilling, revealed that the equipment could easily be used to cut into a vault, as his firm is often tasked with converting former banks into hotels and housing. CCTV from the scene reveals that a white Transit Van parked outside his business for two minutes in November last year before two hooded men are seen walking past .
Officers thought to have identified supposed ringleader of jewel thieves .
Meanwhile criminologist suspects raid was inspired by plot of crime novel .
Novel is based on real-life bank heists carried out the late 80s in LA .
Hole In The Ground Gang used drills to bore into vaults in 1986 and 87 .