Securitas robbery mastermind jailed

A martial arts expert who masterminded the £53m Securitas robbery was jailed for 10 years in Morocco yesterday. The cage fighter, Lee Murray, 30, was told he will spend the next decade in prison at a hearing in Rabat, Kent Police said.

The sentence was for his role in co-ordinating the raid at the cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent, on 21 February 2006. Last June the Moroccan authorities refused to extradite Murray, originally from Sidcup, after establishing his Moroccan nationality. Since then detectives have worked closely with their overseas colleagues to ensure Murray does not escape justice. He has been held in prison since his arrest at a shopping centre several months after the raid and has already served time for drug-related offences.

Detective Superintendent Mick Judge said: "I'm pleased Murray will now begin serving a significant prison sentence for his part in the Tonbridge robbery. We must not forget the traumatic experience the Dixons and the Securitas employees went through that night in 2006 – held at gunpoint and fearing for their lives. I'm pleased that Murray, who played a key role in the conspiracy to kidnap the Dixons and rob the depot, has now been held accountable."

Last October, Murray's trusted lieutenant Paul Allen was jailed for 18 years for his part in the robbery. Allen, 31, of Chatham, Kent, admitted charges of conspiracy to rob, kidnap and possess firearms.

After the hold-up in February 2006, Allen fled to Morocco with Murray and the pair began enjoying a cocaine-fuelled party lifestyle in the sun. Both men were seized by Moroccan authorities after four months and locked up in the rat-infested "hell hole" of Rabat prison. The father-of-three claimed he knew nothing about the robbery and jurors were unable to reach a verdict after a first trial at the Old Bailey.

On the night of the raid in 2006, the depot manager Mr Dixon, his wife and young child were kidnapped to allow the gang to gain entry, and 14 staff members were terrorised and tied up at gunpoint as the robbers stuffed cash into a 7.5-ton lorry during the 66-minute hold-up.

Police have recovered £21m of the record-breaking cash haul and are still hunting for the rest of the cash. Plans are under way to make a Hollywood film about the robbery.