Catch up TV

Episode 23 March 2023

Told by the police who were there, this is the true story of Britain's biggest bullion heist.\n \nIn November 1983, armed robbers stole £26 million worth of gold from the Brink’s-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow airport. The nation was gripped as the robbers escaped with 6,800 bars of gold with an equivalent value of nearly £100 million at today’s prices.\n \nFor the police it was a race against time before the gold was smelted, disguised and sold back on the open market. That much cash in the hands of criminals had the potential to fuel criminal enterprise on an unprecedented scale.\n \nSpeaking for the first time since the robbery, Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce, who headed up the investigation, and DC Tony Yeoman reveal the challenges they faced, discuss the strategy they adopted and reflect on the tragedy that unfolded when they staked out Kenneth Noye, one of the men at the epicentre of the gang.\n \nThe trail of the missing gold sent police on a cat-and-mouse chase across borders and continents as they tracked a network of corrupt professionals - lawyers and accountants – who helped launder the money through a complex network of foreign accounts and companies, ultimately returning it to the UK to invest in property and drugs.\n \nThe story demonstrates how 1980s banking practice, the desire to rebuild London’s docklands and a lack of money laundering regulations all aided the robbers and handlers as they transformed the biggest gold bullion haul into cash - and in doing so changed our nation forever.

Source: BBC 1