Simon Cowell "couldn't believe" a plot to burgle his home had been foiled before he even knew about it.
The 63-year-old music mogul - who is engaged to Lauren Silverman, 45, and has nine-year-old son Eric with her - had no idea that a security expert who had lost a fortune after working with A-listers was plotting to rob some of his ex-clients with the help of a Bulgarian decoder device worth £750 until after British tabloid The Sun had handed a dossier to police and exposed the planned raid.
After learning of the plot, he told The Sun newspaper: "When I initially was told about this story by The Sun, I couldn’t believe it. It was like something out of a science fiction film. I want to thank the team at The Sun who have been working hard to expose this."
The businessman - who was arrested and then released on bail - is thought to have held a meeting in a hotel bar to discuss allegedly the lavish property of 'The X Factor' judge towards the end of May and claimed that the intervention could involve "tying up" people during the raid.
According to the outlet, he is thought to have told his accomplice: “The door has been fitted. He’s got windows, doors, French doors. He’s got two security guards, and honestly mate, they’re in a little room the size of this area here with 16 monitors so they’ve got cameras everywhere around the house. Cos, you know, he got robbed a few years ago. That’s why he had these doors and windows done. I just know what security he’s got cos I’ve been in that security booth. Every fing part of the house is covered. He will have his own security guard."
After the outlet recovered the decoder device, Simon spoke of his "total shock" at the situation and was amazed that such a software code could be obtained in the first place.
He said: I was in total shock. The fact that it is possible for a person to obtain the software code to sell to someone so they could rob the house my family live in is disgusting. To even consider doing this is dangerous and reckless. People who attempt to enter other people’s homes couldn’t care less of the consequences and how people living in these houses could have been affected."
Tagged in Simon Cowell Lauren Silverman