It was the most sensational gold theft in UK history. On the morning of November 26, 1983 – exactly 36 years ago – six thieves broke into the warehouse of the Brinks Mat company atLondon Heathrow Airport, thanks to the complicity of a security officer. Inside, they thought they'd find three million pounds in notes, but the tip that prompted them to strike proved wrong. In reality, the strong room held much more precious loot: three tons of gold distributed in 6.800 bars, plus an additional load of diamonds and banknotes. Total value: £26 million at the time, equal to Current 101 million euros.
The thieves, pleasantly surprised by the discovery, weren't equipped for such a transport... But how could they give up? Waiting for them outside that warehouse, however, there was no happy ending. They somehow managed to get all the gold out, but they didn't cover their tracks. After the theft - which immediately had a huge echo in Great Britain, where many spoke of the "crime of the century" - Scotland Yard staged a furious hunt for the six men, and in the end all members of the gang were arrested.
As for the stolen goods, the investigators managed to recover only a third of it. The rest disappeared into thin air.
In 2004, Heathrow Airport was the scene of another (this time only attempted) film theft: seven men broke into the Swiss Port depot with the aim of stealing £80m (€120m) of gold and cash. , but waiting for them they found 100 men from Scotland Yard, warned in time by an anonymous tip.
The stories related to the London airport require citing a much more recent news episode, which will probably be remembered over the decades exactly like the misadventures at Heathrow. At dawn yesterday, a gang of thieves – now on the run – stole antique jewels for a total value of one billion euros from the treasury chamber of the Dresden Castle, in Germany. The Bild talks about the "most sensational art theft in post-war history".
