Real-Life Heists

24 November 2008

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The heist movie is forever popular at the box office and this week sees Demi Moore and Michael Caine join forces for Flawless.

Demi Moore stars as female executive at the London Diamond Corporation that finds herself frustrated by a glass ceiling after years of faithful employment.

She befriends a janitor (Michael Caine) who is reaching the end of his tenure at the company and is looking to help himself to a considerably more generous retirement package. Together they hatch a plot to steal a handful of priceless diamonds, setting off a swirling chain of events that send ripples all over Europe.

To mark the release of the film we took at look at some of the most famous real-life heists.

1.Baker Street: September 1971

The Bank Job became known as the 'walkie-talkie bank job' because of a fluke tip-off from a member of the public who overheard the robbers talking on a two-way radio.

In September 1971, thieves tunnelled into the vault of a bank in London’s Baker Street and looted safe deposit boxes of cash and jewellery worth millions and millions of pounds.

None of it was recovered. Nobody was ever arrested. The robbery made headlines for a few days and then disappeared - the result of a UK Government ‘D’ Notice, gagging the press.

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.

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