Widely dubbed the crime of the century, the Brink's-Mat robbery took place on November 26, 1983. Six armed criminals forced their way into the Brinks-Mat warehouse, situated at the Heathrow International Trading Estate in West London. Their entry was reportedly made possible by Anthony Black, a security guard working at the warehouse. After gaining access, the gang poured petrol over the staff members and threatened to set them on fire unless they handed over the combination numbers to the vault.
The thieves had anticipated walking away with £ 3.2 million in cash. What they discovered when the vault swung open, however, far exceeded their wildest expectations: three long tons of gold bullion along with £26 million in cash, gold, and diamonds. Just two days after the heist, a couple living near Bath, Somerset noticed a white-hot crucible in use at a neighboring property and contacted police, suspecting a possible link to the robbery. Unfortunately, authorities failed to act meaningfully on the tip, only raiding the location 14 months later. The occupant, John Palmer, ultimately claimed he had no idea the gold was connected to the heist and was eventually released.
A key breakthrough came when Black's brother-in-law provided information that led to the arrest of Brian Robinson in December 1983 for his involvement in the crime. Investigators then uncovered a connection between Brian Robinson and Anthony Black, who was subsequently taken into custody and admitted to helping the robbers by supplying them with a key to the premises. Meanwhile, one of the six robbers, Perry, had enlisted the services of an expert named Kenneth Noye to help launder the stolen gold. The trail of unusually large financial transactions eventually raised red flags with law enforcement, resulting in Noye's arrest.
Although a significant portion of the gold was never recovered, McAvoy, Black, and Noye all faced justice, each serving prison time for their roles in the heist. George Francis, another member of the robbery crew, was later murdered by McAvoy, who accused him of squandering McAvoy's share of the stolen money and gold.