Brink's-MAT robbery

The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, London, United Kingdom, on 26 November 1983 and was one of the largest robberies in British history. £26 million (equivalent to £ in ) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse operated by Brink's-Mat, a former joint venture between US security company Brink's and London-based company MAT Transport. The bullion was the property of Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd. Micky McAvoy and Brian Robinson were convicted of armed robbery. Most of the gold has never been recovered. Lloyd's of London paid out for the losses, and several shooting deaths have been linked to the case. Robbery The Brink's-Mat robbery happened at 06:40 on 26 November 1983 when six robbers broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, Unit 7 of the Heathrow International Trading Estate near Heathrow Airport in West London, England. It was described as "the crime of the century". The gang gained entry to the warehouse from security guard Anthony Black, who was complicit in the robbery. Once inside, they poured petrol over the staff and threatened them with a lit match if they did not reveal the combination numbers of the vault. The robbers thought that they were going to steal around £1 million worth of Spanish pesetas, but they also found three tonnes (3000 kg) of pure gold bullion outside the main vault in 6,840 bars in 76 cardboard boxes. The gold had been stored at the warehouse overnight before being due to be transferred to Hong Kong the next day. In addition, they stole platinum, 1,000 carats of diamonds and $250,000 of traveller's cheques. The total value of their haul was £26 million (equivalent to £ in ).