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Only James Bond could have pulled off this heist: Asian Age
London, Jun 04: Tools prosecutors say a thief used in a `James Bond-style` plan to rob an aircraft hold in mid-flight were shown to London jurors on Tuesday. They helped Rawson Watson, 37, stow away in the cargo hold of a passenger jet in a daring plot to steal £1.5 million in cash, the court heard. But the plan failed when clumsy cargo handlers in London dropped the box he had hid in to escape, tumbling him out onto the tarmac.
London, Jun 04: Tools prosecutors say a thief used in a "James Bond-style" plan to rob an aircraft hold in mid-flight were shown to London jurors on Tuesday.
They helped Rawson Watson, 37, stow away in the cargo hold of a passenger jet in a daring plot to steal £1.5 million in cash, the court heard. But the plan failed when clumsy cargo handlers in London dropped the box he had hid in to escape, tumbling him out onto the tarmac.
Christopher Hehir, prosecuting, told jurors: "A thief, no matter how much his activities may smack of a James Bond adventure, is still just a thief."
Opening the case at the Old Bailey on Monday, Mr Hehir described how Watson’s accomplices at London’s Heathrow airport had smuggled him into the hold of a British Airways Boeing 767 before a regular January 2000 flight to Madrid.
He was armed with a tool kit of masking tape, rubber gloves, nail varnish, and a drill, as well as two flat-pack boxes. Once on board, Watson cut into the hold’s inner lining, hiding between the lining and the plane’s metal structure. Mr Hehir told the court safety experts thought the rips in the lining, which Watson had covered with masking tape to avoid detection, could have interfered with the plane’s fire protection system. The cargo hold was heated and pressurised while it was in the air for the 3-1/4 hour flight.
After arriving in Madrid, ground workers loaded 1.5 million pounds worth of Spanish pesetas in security boxes destined for travel agents Thomas Cook. Once the plane had begun its return flight to London, Watson emerged from his makeshift hiding place. Mr Hehir told the court Watson’s plan had been to assemble his two flat-pack boxes, put the cash in one of them and hide himself in the other.
He and the money would be unloaded from the plane and then smuggled out of the airport by accomplices. But he discovered his plan to use green nail varnish to cover the breaks in the green security box seals would not work, and decided to pack just £200,000 into one box and seal himself in the other.
The plan almost succeeded, but his own box was too heavy for the London cargo handlers to carry and they dropped it, spilling Watson out onto the tarmac.
"They were amazed and flabbergasted by what they saw," Mr Hehir said. "He quite casually got up and made off. He told them, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m all right."’ Watson disappeared and was arrested in October 2002 — over two and a half years later.
He denies attempted theft of bank notes and damaging an aircraft in a way likely to endanger its safety in flight.
Christopher Hehir, prosecuting, told jurors: "A thief, no matter how much his activities may smack of a James Bond adventure, is still just a thief."
Opening the case at the Old Bailey on Monday, Mr Hehir described how Watson’s accomplices at London’s Heathrow airport had smuggled him into the hold of a British Airways Boeing 767 before a regular January 2000 flight to Madrid.
He was armed with a tool kit of masking tape, rubber gloves, nail varnish, and a drill, as well as two flat-pack boxes. Once on board, Watson cut into the hold’s inner lining, hiding between the lining and the plane’s metal structure. Mr Hehir told the court safety experts thought the rips in the lining, which Watson had covered with masking tape to avoid detection, could have interfered with the plane’s fire protection system. The cargo hold was heated and pressurised while it was in the air for the 3-1/4 hour flight.
After arriving in Madrid, ground workers loaded 1.5 million pounds worth of Spanish pesetas in security boxes destined for travel agents Thomas Cook. Once the plane had begun its return flight to London, Watson emerged from his makeshift hiding place. Mr Hehir told the court Watson’s plan had been to assemble his two flat-pack boxes, put the cash in one of them and hide himself in the other.
He and the money would be unloaded from the plane and then smuggled out of the airport by accomplices. But he discovered his plan to use green nail varnish to cover the breaks in the green security box seals would not work, and decided to pack just £200,000 into one box and seal himself in the other.
The plan almost succeeded, but his own box was too heavy for the London cargo handlers to carry and they dropped it, spilling Watson out onto the tarmac.
"They were amazed and flabbergasted by what they saw," Mr Hehir said. "He quite casually got up and made off. He told them, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m all right."’ Watson disappeared and was arrested in October 2002 — over two and a half years later.
He denies attempted theft of bank notes and damaging an aircraft in a way likely to endanger its safety in flight.