Securitas depot robbery

The Securitas depot robbery took place in the early hours of 22nd February 2006, between 01:00 and 02:15. A robbery that succeeded in stealing the largest cash amount in British crime history. At least six men abducted and threatened the family of the manager, tied up fourteen staff members and stole £53,116,760 in bank notes from a Securitas Cash depot in Vale Road, Tonbridge, Kent.

The manager of the depot, Colin Dixon, was abducted at about 18:30 on 21 February, apparently while driving to his home in Herne Bay. He was pulled over on the A249 just outside Stockbury, a village North East of Maidstone, by what he thought was an unmarked police vehicle due to the blue lights behind the front grill. A man approached him in high-visibility clothing and a police-style hat. The manager proceeded to get into the police impostor's car, thinking that he was a police officer, where he was then handcuffed by others in the vehicle. He was then driven west on the M20 motorway to the West Malling bypass where he was bound further, transferred into a white van and transported to a farm in Staplehurst, Kent.

at the same time this was taking place, the manager's wife and eight-year-old son were being held hostage at their home in Herne Bay, after they answered the door to men also dressed in police uniforms. The supposed police informed them that the manager had been involved in a road traffic accident. They were then driven to the farm at which the manager was being held, where he was told at gunpoint that failure to cooperate could put him and his family in danger.

The depot manager, his wife and son were taken to the Securitas depot in Tonbridge at around 01:00, travelling in a plain white van, being held at gunpoint. At the depot, 14 members of staff were bound by robbers, armed with handguns and wearing balaclavas.

The robbery came to an end at around 02:45am, The staff including Mr Dixon's wife and son were left locked in cash cages. However, Mr Dixon's son was small enough to be able to squeeze through the bars and free the others. It was still another half hour before staff members, who had been tied up, managed to raise the alarm. Police officers arriving on the scene discovered staff, the manager and his family, bound but physically unharmed.

The notes will be difficult to trace and link to the robbery due to the fact that they are used notes and not newly printed, unlike the notes stolen in the Belfast robbery of 2004.

The Bank of England, to which the money belonged, was reimbursed £25 million by Securitas the same day, and has assured the public that Securitas will make up any additional loss.

July 2007, Securitas announced that it intended to exit the Cash Management market and withdraw from the joint venture with Barclays and HSBC.

 26th June 2007 The trial began at the Old Bailey in London, presided over by Mr Justice Penry-Davey.

The first three weeks of the trial focused on the role of the manager Colin Dixon with the defence cross-examination highlighting 'co-incidences' in his conduct which might be interpreted as suggesting he was the inside man.

28th January 2008, the jury returned guilty verdicts on Stuart Royle, Jetmir Bucpapa, Roger Coutts, Lea Rusha and Emir Hysenaj. John Fowler and Keith Borer were cleared of all charges.

29th January 2008 Emir Hysenaj was sentenced to 20 years in prison with an order that he serve a minimum of 10 years. Stuart Royle, Lea Rusha, Jetmir Bucpapa and Roger Coutts were given life sentences with an order that they serve a minimum of 15 years.

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