Graff Diamonds Robbery – New Bond Street, London 2009
On the 6th of August 2009, two men walked into Graff Diamond jewellers on New Bond Street in London and stole rings, bracelets, necklaces and watches worth £40 million. It was considered to be one of the largest ever jewellery heists of all time.
The men were sharply dressed and although one of them was wearing leather gloves, the security guard let them in as he said he was “used to the eccentric behaviour from their wealthy customers”. The two men held a shop assistant at gunpoint and ordered her to empty the stores display cabinets.
She was then forced into the street where the men fired a shot into the air to cause confusion whilst they made their getaway in a blue BMW. The BMW was soon abandoned nearby whilst another gunshot was fired into the ground as the men switched to a silver Mercedes. The robbers then switched vehicles one more time at Farm Street and there was no knowledge of their location from that point onwards.
It seemed that they were home free until police found a pay-as-you-go mobile phone in one of the escape vehicles. Police used numbers in the mobile phone to monitor the men’s movements and also linked them with other people involved in the robbery. All men were served long-term prison sentences, although, the jewellery was never seen again.
Security Deposit Robber – Knightsbridge, England 1987
On the 12th of July 1987, Valerio Viccei and his accomplices entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre and asked for a safety deposit box. Once inside the vault, the men pulled out guns and subdued the manager and security guards with force. They then put a sign in the door saying that the centre was temporarily closed and let in more accomplices.
The men broke open safety deposit boxes and left with money and other items worth £60 million.
Crime investigators found a fingerprint which they traced back to Valerio Viccei who had fled to Latin America. It was only due to Viccei’s obsession with his Ferrari that got him arrested. Years after the robbery, Viccei flew back to England to collect his beloved Ferrari Testarossa and have it flow to his new home in Latin America.
Police blocked the road, smashed the windscreen and dragged him out of the car. Viccei was sentenced to a 22 year prison sentence in Parhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight. In 1992, Viccei was deported back to his native land of Italy where he was to serve the rest of his sentence. Here he was incarcerated in an open jail, where he lived a lifestyle he was already accustomed to and ran a translation company.
Later, on the 19th April 2000, Viccei was on a day release from prison. A gunfight broke out between Viccei, his accomplice and the police. It is thought that Viccei was trying to escape and he was shot and killed by police. Two books have been published about Viccei’s life; Too Fast to Live and Live by the Gun, Die by the Gun.
The Northern Bank Robber – Belfast 2004
A large group of robbers seized the equivalent of some £26.5 million from the headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast. At the time it was considered to be the largest bank robbery in UK and Irish history. The Irish police service claimed that the robbery was carried out by the IRA but the IRA refuses to accept responsibility.
On the 19th of December 2004, armed robbers entered the home of two Northern Bank officials. The robbers disguised themselves as Irish police and held them and their families at gunpoint. The following day, whilst the gunmen held the bank officials’ wives hostage, Bank official Chris Ward and Bank Supervisor Kevin McMullan were instructed to go to work at the bank’s headquarters as normal.
At lunch time on Monday 20th December 2004, bank official Chris Ward was instructed to remove £1 million and take it to a nearby bus stop where one of the robbers would meet him. He was then told to return to work. This part of the robbery was considered by officials to be a test before the “main” robbery later that evening.
McMulland and Ward were then instructed to stay at work after business hours and grant access to the members of the gang. The gang took the money via vehicles parked just outside the bank and later released Mr McMullan’s wife in a nearby forest.
The robbers got away with £10 million worth of uncirculated Northern Bank sterling notes, £5.5 million of used Northern Bank sterling notes, £4.5 million of circulated sterling notes and various amounts of other currencies. Northern Bank then recalled all £300 million of its banknotes and reissued them in different colours and with different logos. This meant that much of the stolen money was now useless.
During the months of February and March, many arrests were made in connection to the robbery and much of the money was accounted for. It is still unclear as to how much the IRA were involved in the robbery, although, it is widely considered that the money was meant to be used as a retirement fund for retired IRA activists. The investigation is still unsolved.
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