Securitas Robber Gets 18 Years Date: Monday, October 05, 2009 Source: The Sun Online

A cage fighter was jailed for 18 years today after admitting his role in Britain's biggest ever cash robbery. Paul Allen was the right hand man of Lee "Lightning" Murray, who masterminded the £53million robbery at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent, in February 2006. The pair fled to Morocco after the heist and embarked on a cocaine-fuelled party lifestyle in the sun, buying furnished villas and expensive cars. Allen was thought of by Murray — a fellow cage fighter — as a trusted lieutenant in the daring plot. Both also spent thousands of pounds on breast enhancement operations in England for wives and girlfriends of the men, according to court documents. They thought they were living out their dreams, but after four months they were seized by Moroccan authorities and locked up in the rat-infested "hell hole" of Rabat prison. Allen, an aggressive and powerfully-built, steroid-pumping fitness fanatic, spent 20 months in the jail before he was brought back to Britain to face trial. The father-of-three claimed he knew nothing about the robbery and jurors were unable to reach a verdict after a first trial at the Old Bailey. But Allen, 31, of Chatham, Kent, admitted charges of conspiracy to rob, kidnap and possess firearms as a re-trial was due to begin at Woolwich Crown Court. He pleaded guilty on the basis that he was not one of the robbers who entered the depot, or one of the kidnappers, and that he did not handle any firearms. The basis of plea also maintained that he was doing the bidding of Murray and his only benefit was the property in Morocco. Murray, said to have been the mastermind behind the robbery, will not face British justice. The 30-year-old, from Sidcup, South East London, claimed nationality in Morocco because his father was born there and authorities in the north African country turned down an extradition request, although he remains behind bars. Murray, a Ferrari-driving martial arts star, masterminded the Securitas heist just five months after he was nearly killed in a knife attack outside a star-studded West End party. Police have recovered £21million of the cash haul and are still hunting for the rest, with recent inquiries focusing on a country in the Middle East. The robbery was planned and executed with military precision. Depot manager Colin Dixon, his wife and young child were kidnapped to allow the gang to gain entry, and 14 staff members were terrorised and tied up at gunpoint as the robbers stuffed cash into a 7.5 ton lorry in the 66-minute raid. Plans are under way to make a Hollywood film about the robbery. Kick boxer Lea Rusha, car salesman Stuart Royle, unemployed Albanian Jetmir Bucpapa and garage owner Roger Coutts were all jailed indefinitely last year with minimum terms of 15 years after being convicted of taking part. Inside man Emir Hysenaj, an Albanian, who filmed inside the depot using a miniature camera, was given 20 years. Passing sentence, Judge David Penry-Davey said the robbery was "meticulously prepared and ruthlessly executed". He said: "The plot included from an early stage the kidnapping and holding hostage of Colin Dixon, his wife and young child, who, under threat of lethal violence, gave access to the depot and unimaginable amounts of cash." The judge said the staff caught up in the daring robbery suffered long-term effects and the gang was limited to stealing £53million only because of the size of the vehicle that could be taken into the depot. He said: "This was, as I said previously, organised banditry for uniquely high stakes." Addressing Allen's role in the conspiracy, Mr Justice Penry-Davey said: "It is clear that as a long-term friend and associate of Murray and with knowledge of what was being planned, you played an active part in various aspects of the preparations for the raid."   Courtesy of SecurityOracle.com - The Secury Industry's Portal