Real-Life Heists - page 2

24-11-2008 15:04

2. Northern Bank: December 2004

A gang stole £26.4m from the headquarters of the Northern Bank in Belfast - the largest amount of cash ever taken in a robbery in the UK.

The bank had to withdraw its notes and replace them with new ones with different logos and colours. Most of the stolen cash has yet to be recovered.

3. Millennium Dome: November 2000

Police foiled the attempted theft of £200m worth of diamonds on display at the tourist attraction in South London.

The robbers were caught as they smashed their way into the Dome with a JCB digger and had planned their escape up the river Thames on a speedboat.

But senior police officers, suspicious of a plan to steal the diamonds, mounted a sophisticated operation to thwart it.

4. City of London: May 1990

A financial messenger was robbed of £292m worth of bonds at knifepoint in a quiet City of London side street.

The messenger was taking Bank of England Treasury bills and certificates of deposit from banks and building societies.

The bonds were in bearer form and as good as cash to anyone holding them. Police believed the mugging was carried out by Patrick Thomas, a small-time crook from south London, who was found shot dead before being charged. The police recovered all but two of the 301 bonds thanks to an informant.

5. The Great Train Robbery: August 1963

Armed robbers, including Ronnie Biggs, stole £2.6m from the Glasgow-London Royal Mail train. The robbers stopped the train by turning off a green track signal and turning on a red one.

The gang members were caught and sentenced to jail terms of up to 30 years. Biggs later escaped from Wandsworth prison and fled to Brazil. He returned to Britain in 2001 to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Flawless is released 28th November