Stealing several tonnes of banknotes is difficult enough. Getting rid of it through offshore banks, underworld dealers and corrupt accountants without arousing suspicion borders on the impossible today.

Detectives believe that whoever masterminded the Tonbridge raid must have a plan in place to hide the banknotes, then launder them when the heat dies down. Investigators know that if they don’t get a lead within the next few days they will have to wait until the money surfaces again.

Only a few villains in this country have the contacts, the organisation, the know-how and the funds for such an audacious crime. The number of people required to plan and execute this raid and dispose of the cash runs into the scores, say experts. The silence of all of them has to be bought.

The betting among the criminal fraternity yesterday was that this was a home-grown outfit, rather than foreign mafia or the IRA looking to repeat their Belfast tactics of kidnapping the victim’s family. Recently retired Scotland Yard detectives share the view that this is not some brash new gang of youngsters operating in what is a fertile hunting ground for Britain’s big-time crime lords.

Roy Ramm, former commander of the Flying Squad, is confident that this is not the first big robbery that this crime boss has organised in southeast England. “It is intriguing that this happened in that old neck of the woods again and in close proximity to southeast London, which has always been a wonderful nursing ground for armed robbers,” he said.

A senior Scotland Yard officer said: “The public should not romanticise the mastermind as some dapper old villain, like Noël Coward in The Italian Job. This is a vicious man who was prepared to take hostages and spill blood if necessary. He still might.”

He said that it was unlikely the mastermind knew exactly how much his gang had stolen. Tempting though it might be to count it, a man this organised would not risk having so much money in one place for long.

The priority would be to hide it, or move it a long way from Kent, then sit it out. But some of his gang might become greedy or impatient.

In some IRA raids, the robbers spent some of the bank notes whose serial numbers were known. Gangsters sometimes cannot resist ostentatious purchases, promising to pay when their cut comes through.

The financial community says that rules enforced since the September 11 attacks in the US to track terrorist funding has made it harder for gangsters. But Jeffrey Robinson, who has written books on money laundering, believes it is one of the world’s biggest industries. “It will be difficult but not impossible,” he said.

This gang could feed the cash through casinos, bookmakers, bingo halls or businesses with a high cash turnover, such as pubs or restaurants.

A recent risk assessment by the National Criminal Intelligence Service said that money laundering was a growing and diverse business in Britain.

The £2 million reward is a reflection that the best hope of identifying the mastermind may be his betrayal. The urgency for police is to get someone to talk, and talk fast, before the money is lost for good.

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