Heathrow bullion 'ram-raiders' jailed

Eight robbers, whose ram raid attempt to steal £33 million of gold bullion, cash and diamonds at Heathrow Airport was foiled by police, were jailed for a total of 67 years today.

The attempted robbery, which would have been one of the biggest ever committed in Britain if it had succeeded, took place last May. The gang raided the Swissport warehouse, armed with little more than hockey sticks and batons, in what was described as a ‘glorified ram raid’.

The gang had received inside information and arrived at the warehouse shortly after the arrival of £15 million worth of gold bullion and £18 million in diamonds and foreign currency.

However, around 100 police officers who were lying in wait, pounced as the gang used a white van to smash into the secure warehouse. Six of th gang were arrested at the scene. Although two of the men – brothers Steven, 24, and Martin Nolan, 30 - managed to escape, they were later arrested.

Steven Nolan escaped in a nearby lorry, but crashed into a wall outside his home in Wraysbury, Berkshire and was arrested. Martin Nolan, described as one of main organisers of the heist, who had been keeping watch outside the warehouse, fled the scene. He was finally arrested last July.

However, a ninth robber, who also fled the scene, has not yet been apprehended.

The eight were sentenced to between six years and nine months and 13 years.

Martin Nolan, from Horton, near Heathrow, received a 13-year sentence. His brother Steven Nolan was sentenced to eight years for his part in the robbery and an additional six months for aggravated vehicle taking.

James Fox, 31, from Ascot and Christopher Smith, 29 of Eton Wick, who were described as the senior organisers of the plot, were both jailed for eight years.

Alan Larmont, 31, from Slough, John Davis, 22, from Datchet and Anthony Charles, 36, and Derek Sheehan, 33, from Hammersmith, West London, were all jailed for seven-and-a-half years. Anthony Charles, 36, from Shepherd’s Bush, west London, who had earlier pleaded guilty, was jailed for six years and nine months. All four were described as “foot soldiers” in the plot.

Lawyers for the defence described the raid as an “old-style smash and grab” and portrayed the gang as a group of amateur criminals, with convictions for other, less serious offences.

However, Judge Edward Southwell said that the gang had been playing for “high stakes” and had been motivated by greed.

(KMcA/SP)