Again?

international | crime and justice | news report Thursday February 23, 2006 11:29 by Flynn

Was the IRA behind the biggest robbery in history?

An armed gang escaped with up to £40 million in a raid on a high-security cash storage depot in England yesterday in what is thought to be one of the biggest robberies in history.

During a meticulously planned operation, the depot's manager and his family were abducted by two groups of men posing as police officers, while other gang members tied up all 15 staff.

The haul was so enormous that gang members drove a 7.½ tonne truck into the depot at Tonbridge, Kent, southern England in the early hours of yesterday morning to take the money away. The cash belonged to the Bank of England, and had been due to be distributed to banking customers around the southeast of England.

February is the month when the greatest amount of money is taken out of circulation and held briefly in storage.

The bank says there will be no loss to the taxpayer: under the terms of its contract with the depot's operators, Securitas Cash Management Systems, the bank will be reimbused in full. By yesterday evening Securitas had handed over £25 million and will reimburse the rest before making an insurance claim.

Gang members driving a car with flashing blue lights and wearing high-visibility jackets and police-style hats tricked the depot manager into pulling over as he drove home from work on Tuesday. After agreeing to get into their car he was handcuffed and driven back to the depot.

At around the same time, other gang members posing as police persuaded his wife and young son to leave their home at Herne Bay, Kent, and held them at an unknown location.

The manager was threatened at gunpoint and told his family would be harmed unless he co-operated, police say. After being held for several hours he was taken to the depot, where night staff were bound while the cash was loaded into the truck.

"This was a traumatic ordeal for the manager and his family and for all of the staff who worked there," said Det Supt Paul Gladstone, of Kent police.