Video: Securitas cash hidden in Cyprus?

Five men face long prison terms when they are sentenced today for staging Britain’s biggest robbery, but almost £32 million of their haul is now beyond the reach of the law in northern Cyprus.

Much of the cash is believed to have been smuggled to the fugitive’s paradise where Sean Lupton — who slipped through the fingers of police investigating the raid — is also thought to be in hiding.

The five were convicted of kidnap, robbery and firearms offences at the Old Bailey yesterday in connection with the 2006 robbery of £53 million from the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent. The gang kidnapped the depot manager, his wife and their young child and used them to gain entry. Only £21 million has so far been recovered.

Key figures involved in the heist are thought to have escaped to the Mediterranean, North Africa and the West Indies. The “Mr Bigs” behind the raid — two men heavily involved in martial arts — have been traced to Morocco.

Mr Lupton, 46, a martial arts instructor, was arrested after the raid but released on bail without charge. He disappeared in December 2006 and, according to intelligence, caught a ferry to France before travelling to northern Cyprus. The Old Bailey was told that he was “someone whom police would very much like to question”.

The northern part of Cyprus was occupied by Turkey in 1974. It has neither an extradition treaty nor diplomatic relations with Britain and is not covered by European Union money-laundering rules.

Two Turkish Cypriot brothers allegedly connected with the raid and who were named in court as Hussein and Mustafa Basar, are also thought to have left Britain for the island.

The missing millions are thought to have been laundered through the purchase and resale of villas. A substantial sum is also thought to have been invested in property in Morocco, where two men, whose identities are protected by court orders, have been located. The authorities in Rabat have agreed to extradite one of the men, but the second may avoid being brought back to Britain if he can prove that his father is a Moroccan national. He may stand trial in Morocco.

The robbers thought they had carried out the perfect crime, but it began unravelling within 24 hours. A tip-off and “a little bit of luck” quickly led detectives to the woman who had made disguises for some of them. She later risked her life by turning Queen’s evidence in order to testify against the gang.

Police and prosecutors insist that their inquiries are still “live” and that legal moves are under way to seize the assets of those convicted of involvement in the robbery.

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