Britain's Biggest Armed Robbery (2017 - 2017)

In 1983 a gang of armed robbers hijacked a security depot near Heathrow Airport and held the guards to ransom expecting to steal cash in the region of £3 million pounds. But their operation didn’t exactly go according to plan. Security guard Robin Risely couldn’t remember his part of the codes to the safes and remarkably the gang stumbled on a much bigger prize - £26 million of gold bullion. The hunt for the gold was one of the biggest the world has ever seen. The thieves had it smelted down and resold into the market. Now, in this new documentary we hear first hand accounts from the security guards who were on shift that fateful morning and officers on the case.

A gang of dangerous armed robbers prayed on the Security Express cash depot on Curtain Road, London in 1983 to successfully execute the most lucrative cash robbery in Britain of the time. Gregg Counsell, a security officer on duty at the time, left the building for a bottle of milk. It is then that the gang pounced. The team of thieves seized the opportunity to raid the building in a drawn out operation which saw the gang lay in wait for the other guards to clock on for over 7 hours before fleeing with over £6 million in cash. The story is told by Freddie Foreman, an ex-armed robber and a long time associate of the Kray brothers, his story explains the complexity of the crime and how he was extradited from Spain back to Britain and charged with handling stolen money from the robbery.

The Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London became the scene of Britain’s biggest attempted heist. The Millennium Star, a one off diamond and a set of rare blue gems on show at the attraction became the target of a highly dangerous gang of thieves. In the most audacious attack seen on British shores, the thugs drove a digger into the Dome and tried to steal the diamonds worth £300 million. Their attempts were foiled by Scotland Yard. Police were lying in wake for them to get within arms reach of what the robbers thought was their biggest payday. This story is told through the eyes of the people who were at the heart of the robbery. Jon Shatford, the officer leading the case describes the elaborate plot along with John Swinfield. Staff from the Dome and De Beers, who owned the diamonds, also pieces together the story.

Italy’s most wanted criminal, Valerio Viccei, arrives on UK shores after being hunted for over 50 separate armed robberies in his native country. Viccei wastes no time robbing the best of British banks to feed his lifestyle and hunger for danger. In 1987 his final payday proved to be one of the largest heists ever recorded in British history. With a small gang, he robbed a safety deposit box centre in Knightsbridge and fled with £40 million worth of valuables. Viccei’s plan was eventually rumbled after some mistakes were made at the scene of the crime. He became Scotland Yard’s number one suspect after a blood stained finger print was found in the vault. What followed was an international hunt for the thief, associates and the loot ending in a spectacular showdown at Marble Arch in Viccei’s Ferrari Testarossa sports car.

In 2006 Tonbridge, Kent became the scene of the largest ever cash heist in the world. A well organized and heavily armed gang forced their way into a security cash depot at night with the manager, Colin Dixon. He had been kidnapped by the robbers along with his family and held at gun point. The money stolen was a colossal £53 million, the biggest amount of cash ever stolen in a robbery. The police were on the tail of the robbers and found a make-up artist held the key to the investigation. Then within hours of the heist Detectives discovered millions of pounds stashed in various locations. Clue after clue unfolded helping officers blow the lid on the gang in one of the biggest criminal investigations on British soil. This phenomenal story is told through the eyes of night supervisor, Alun Thomas on duty that fateful evening, along with the officers who cracked the case Detective Sergeant Andy Nicoll and Detective Chief Inspector Mick Judge. They also reveal how an inside man in the depot leaked confidential information, making ‘Britain’s Biggest Heist’ possible…