![]() Despite the three year attempt to question him, his case was thrown out of court after just 25 seconds due to insufficient evidence. ![]() He was subsequently deported from the US to the UK in 1987 and charged with handling £840,000. Īnother suspect, John Fleming, was held in Miami in 1986 after being deported from Costa Rica where he had arrived following an earlier ejection from Spain. In court, Palmer said he was unaware the gold was linked to the robbery and he was cleared of all charges. Palmer was deported to Britain from Brazil in 1986 and was put on trial in 1987. In 1986, seven men, including Noye, Reader, Chappell and Patch, were put on trial for handling the stolen gold, with Noye accused of masterminding and controlling the operation to launder the robbery proceeds. Brian Reader was also at the property at the time and put on trial for murder but was acquitted. Noye claimed that he had been attacked and killed Fordham in self defence and at the resulting trial, the jury found him not guilty of murder. In January 1985, he encountered Detective Constable John Fordham in the grounds of his home and stabbed him 10 times, resulting in the detective's death. Noye was placed under police surveillance. Noye melted down the bullion and recast it for sale, mixing in copper coins to disguise the source. Perry recruited Kenneth Noye, who was an expert in his field, to dispose of the gold. McAvoy had entrusted part of his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. The sudden movement of £13 million through Bristol area branches of Barclays Bank allegedly came to the notice of the Bank of England, which informed the police although the Bank of England denied this. His former partners Garth Chappell and Terrence Patch were arrested. In January 1985, the premises in Bath were raided and the furnace was found but the occupier, John Palmer, a jeweller and bullion dealer, was on holiday in Tenerife. Anthony White was also arrested for the robbery but was later acquitted. Ten days after the robbery, Robinson and Micky McAvoy were arrested. He identified his brother-in-law, Brian Robinson, as one of the robbers. ![]() Black confessed in December 1983 to aiding and abetting the raiders, providing them with impressions of the key to the main door, and giving them details of security measures and became an informer. Police soon identified that Black's sister was living with Brian Robinson, who appeared in Flying Squad intelligence files. No explanation has been given for the police's failure to follow up immediately on the tip-off. The couple were never asked to give a statement to police nor give evidence in court. The police arrived and were shown the hut, but they said it was just beyond their jurisdiction and stated that they would pass the information on to the police responsible for that area. Suspecting it to be linked to the bullion robbery, they immediately informed the police. Two days after the robbery, a couple saw a white-hot crucible operating in a garden hut at a neighbour's property near Bath, Somerset. Their total haul was £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021 ) worth of gold, diamonds, and cash. In addition, they stole 1,000 carats of diamonds and $250,000 of traveller's cheques. The gold had been stored at the warehouse overnight before being due to be transferred to Hong Kong the next day. The robbers thought that they were going to steal around three million Spanish pesetas (around £13,000 in 1983) in cash, but instead they found three tonnes (3000 kg) of pure gold bullion outside the main vault in 6,840 bars in 76 cardboard boxes. Once inside, they poured petrol over the staff and threatened them with a lit match if they did not reveal the combination numbers of the vault. The gang gained entry to the warehouse from security guard Anthony Black, who was complicit in the robbery. It was described as "the crime of the century". The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred at 06:40 on 26 November 1983 when six robbers broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, Unit 7 of the Heathrow International Trading Estate near Heathrow Airport in West London, England. Lloyd's of London paid out for the losses, and several shooting deaths have been linked to the case. Most of the gold has never been recovered. Micky McAvoy and Brian Robinson were convicted of armed robbery. The bullion was the property of Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd. £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021 ) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse operated by Brink's-Mat, a former joint venture between US security company Brink's and London-based company MAT Transport. The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, London, United Kingdom, on 26 November 1983 and was one of the largest robberies in British history.
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