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At least six men kidnapped the manager of a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, K
Featured Event 2006 Event

February 22

Tonbridge Heist: Britain's Largest Robbery Executed

At least six men kidnapped the manager of a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent, on February 21, 2006, along with his wife and child, then used him to gain access to the vault. They escaped with 53 million pounds in bank notes, the largest cash robbery in British history. The gang used a white Volvo truck to haul the money, but the sheer volume of cash, weighing over a ton, created immediate logistical problems. Police recovered 21 million pounds within days, some of it found in a van abandoned near a school. Ringleader Lee Murray, a mixed martial arts fighter, fled to Morocco, which has no extradition treaty with the UK. He was eventually convicted by a Moroccan court and sentenced to ten years. Several other gang members received sentences of up to fifteen years. Roughly 32 million pounds was never recovered. The robbery forced a complete overhaul of security protocols for UK cash handling facilities.

February 22, 2006

20 years ago

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