BRITAIN: Robbers escaped with $6.5 million in foreign currency yesterday after raiding a British Airways security van at London's Heathrow Airport, police said.
It is almost 20 years since Heathrow played host to Britain's biggest heist - the notorious Brink's-Mat robbery - and yesterday's dawn raid opens new questions about security at the world's busiest international airport.
At least two men attacked the driver of the van in a secure area at the airport's Terminal 4 at around 6.30 a.m., forcing him to the floor and tying up his hands and feet. The cash, which had arrived on board a British Airways flight from Bahrain, was transferred to another vehicle carrying the BA livery and driven away. This was later found abandoned and burnt out in Feltham, a nearby west London suburb.
"We think it was carrying foreign currency. We are looking at $6.5 million," a police source said.
Scotland Yard confirmed that a "substantial amount" of cash had been stolen but would not give exact details nor say to whom the money belonged.
The van driver was taken to hospital suffering from shock and slight injuries but his condition was said not to be serious.
"We are co-operating fully with the police investigation," a BA spokeswoman said. "At this stage there is no reason to believe any BA staff were involved."
The robbery renews concerns about security at the airport which was tightened following the suicide hijacks in the United States on September 11th.
BA denied their security procedures had been at fault, saying the British Airports Authority (BAA) was responsible for that area.
The 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery netted £26 million. A six-strong masked gang overpowered security guards at an airport warehouse and escaped with gold bullion and diamonds. It went down in criminal history as Britain's biggest heist.