Heathrow International Trading Estate in London, UK, was broken into early on November 26, 1983. The theft of goods worth £26 million at the time (about £93.3 million or $128.35 million in 2021) was called the Brink’s-Mat robbery because the organisation whose warehouse was broken into was called Brink’s-Mat.
Given how big the crime was, it quickly caught the attention of the whole world. It has also been the subject of many entertainment projects, such as “The Gold,” starring Hugh Bonneville and Dominic Cooper. People are probably wondering where the people who were thought to have done the robbery are now, and we’re here to answer that question.
How Did Brian Robinson Die?
Brian “The Colonel” Robinson was one of the main suspects in the case. He was caught at his flat in Rotherhithe, London, on December 7, 1983, just ten days after the robbery. Anthony “Tony” Black, his brother-in-law, worked as a security guard at the crime scene. This is one of the main reasons why he was linked to the case. Also, he was someone the Flying Squad of London’s Metropolitan Police Service was interested in because he had been involved in a number of successful robberies.
After Black told the police about Robinson, he was put on trial and given a 25-year prison sentence in December 1984. After he was found guilty, he tried to get in touch with other gang members to get his share of the gold and trade it for a shorter sentence. But they never got either the gold or the money back. Robinson got out of jail in 2000 after being there for 16 years. The 78-year-old man died in a London nursing home in 2021 after being sick for a long time. This was about 38 years after the robbery.
How Did Micky McAvoy Die?
Mickey “Mad” McAvoy was also arrested on December 7, 1983, from his home in Herne Hill, London. This was a big break in the case of the London robbery. The ex-soldier, who was called “The Nutter,” was given 25 years in prison. When McAvoy tried to get his share of the money to shorten his sentence and got the same answer as Robinson, he was furious and wrote back an angry letter.
McAvoy got out of prison on parole in 2000, and since then, he has split his time between the Kent area of England and his home in Spain. After a long battle with cancer, he died at home in Spain on December 31, 2022. He was 70 years old. Kathleen “Kathy” McAvoy, who was married to McAvoy, died before he did. Peter Fury, Tyson Fury’s uncle and a boxing trainer, was one of the people who sent their condolences. They had been friends for about 30 years, according to Peter Fury.
Where is Anthony Black Now?
Next is Anthony “Tony” Black, who worked as a security guard at the warehouse that was robbed and helped the thieves get in. In December 1983, he admitted that he had helped the robbers by telling them about the security measures and giving them impressions of the keys. In February 1984, Black got six years in prison for what he did.
Robinson helped the former guard buy a flat, so he owed him money. After he was done with the whole thing, he and his wife, Lynn, were both given new names. At the moment, they are thought to live in one of the home counties that surround London.
Where is Kenneth Noye Now?
Even though Kenneth Noye did not take part in the actual theft, he was a part of this case because he helped get rid of the stolen gold. Under watch, he stabbed a detective named John Fordham more than ten times in Noye’s house. Fordham was wearing camouflage and a balaclava. The man was found not guilty of murder because he said he did it in self-defense. But Noye was linked to the Brink’s-Mat theft after police found 11 gold bars in his home.
In 1986, Noye was given 14 years in prison and a fine of £700,000 for conspiring to handle stolen goods and conspiring to avoid VAT (Value-Added Tax). Even so, he did not serve the whole time and was let out on parole in 1994. On May 19, 1996, Noye got angry on the road and stabbed Stephen Cameron, who was 25 years old. He ran away and found shelter in Spain. In 2000, he was caught and sent back home. In this case, Noye was given a life sentence, but in 2019, he was given a chance to change his life.
Where is Garth Chappell Now?
In January 1985, Garth Chappell was caught after a raid in Bath, UK. At the crime scene, police found a furnace that was used to melt the stolen gold. John Palmer was living in the house at the time, but he was not in the UK. His business partners, including Chappell, were arrested. The second man was put on trial in 1986. He was accused of working with others to handle stolen goods and not paying VAT. Chappell was given a 10-year prison sentence and had to pay £200,000 for what he did.
Where is Brian Reader Now?
Brian Reader was arrested at first for being at Kenneth Noye’s house when John Fordham died, but he was later cleared of the same charge. Still, he had to testify again in 1986, and this time he was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiring to deal with stolen goods and avoid VAT. On May 19, 2015, he was arrested again for his part in the Hatton Garden safe deposit theft.
Reader was put on trial and given a prison sentence of six years and three months on March 21, 2016. He was thought to be the leader of the Hatton Garden case. But in July 2018, after only three years behind bars, he was let out. Reader’s bad health, including prostate cancer, strokes, and dementia, meant that he had until April 2019 to return his share of the stolen goods. Even though he only paid back about 6% of his share, or £406,000, which was worth £6.6 million, he was not sent back to prison.
Where is Matteo Constantino Now?
In 1986, Matteo Constantino went to court because he was accused of plotting to handle stolen goods and trying to avoid paying VAT. He was found not guilty of the first charge, but he was found guilty of the second. So, Constantino was given a year in prison, but the sentence was put on hold as long as he didn’t do anything else wrong. Even though this was probably written down in his permanent record, it doesn’t look like he had to do anything else special.
Where is Michael Relton Now?
In 1988, a lawyer named Michael Relton was arrested for smuggling £7.5 million to Switzerland and Liechtenstein and then bringing it back into the UK to buy property in London Docklands. In the fall of 1986, someone found out about his role. In July 1988, the man got 12 years in prison and had to pay £12 million for helping to hide stolen goods. Since then, Relton has been set free, and he is said to be hiding in the US.
How Did Kathleen McAvoy Die?
As Micky McAvoy’s second wife, Kathleen “Kathy,” McAvoy’s involvement in the case was both strange and interesting. In 1987, when the man was still in jail, he and the woman got married. During one of her visits, a prison guard saw her showing off her farmhouse, which was in Country Life magazine. Kathy was given an 18-month sentence that was put on hold because she helped wash money from stolen goods. In her last years, she fought cancer. She died in June 2022, six months before her husband, at the age of 76.
Where is Gordon Parry Now?
Gordon Parry was the tenth person to be found guilty of stealing in this huge case. He was a real estate developer and had been on the investigators’ list for a long time. In the end, Parry was arrested in Spain in 1989, and the next year he was brought to the UK to face charges for handling more than £16 million.
In August 1992, the man was given ten years in prison for what he had done. In 2016, when his name came up in the Panama Papers leak, Parry was back in the news. In the late 1980s, Mossack Fonseca and Company advised the real estate dealer, but they denied the claims.
How Did Brian Perry Die?
Brian Perry was also put on trial in August 1992 for his part in the laundering process. As someone who knew Micky McAvoy, it is said that he was the one who got Kenneth Noye on board. In 1988, he was caught and charged with laundering about £7.5 million. He was given a nine-year sentence. But Brian Perry was shot and killed just a few months after he was set free in 2001.
On November 16, 2001, Perry got out of his car, which was parked in the same spot as usual. He was shot three times in the back of the head by a man in a mask who ran up to him and shot him. People called the deaths of people involved in the Brink’s-Mat robbery “The Curse of Brink’s-Mat.” Perry’s death would be one of them.
Where is Patrick Clark Now?
Patrick Clark’s case did not get as much attention as other arrests made in connection with the famous London robbery. He and his son, Stephen Clark, were accused of putting £4.5 million through a fake business. Patrick used to sell scrap metal, but now he owns a nightclub. He is from Chingford, which is in the county of Essex in the UK. Stephen was cleared of all charges and let go, but his father was found guilty of working with others to deal with stolen goods. In August 1992, Patrick was given a prison sentence of six years.
Where is Jean Savage Now?
We also have a tobacconist from West Kingsdown, Kent, England, named Jeannie “Jean” Savage. She was found guilty of trying to hide £2.5 million in August 1992. As part of her sentence, she was told to go to jail for five years. She was about 48 years old when she got her sentence.
