$6.5m stolen at Heathrow airport

Published February 12, 2002

LONDON, Feb 11: Robbers escaped with 6.5 million dollars worth of currencies in a raid at London’s Heathrow Airport early on Monday after an inbound flight from Bahrain, police said.

The raiders struck in a secure area near a cargo bay at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 shortly before 6:30am.

Police said the money had arrived earlier on a BA flight from Bahrain, but could not specify how much was in dollars and what other currencies were involved. A spokeswoman said two robbers approached the driver of a security van that was transporting the cash, forced him to the ground and tied his hands.

They then transferred the money from the British Airways security vehicle to another van with BA markings, which was later found burnt out not far from the airport with no trace of the cash or suspects.

“At this very early stage the police are trying to establish the exact circumstances of the robbery. No firearms were seen,” the spokeswoman said. The security van driver was taken to a west London hospital suffering shock and injuries to his wrists.—AFP