British police and airport authorities were Tuesday trying to find out how two raiders gained access to a top security area of London's Heathrow airport before escaping with US$6.5 million. Scotland Yard's flying squad confirmed that the robbers, who may have had legitimate security passes, got away Monday morning.
According to KUNA, two "Asian" men attacked the driver of a British Airways (BA) security van in a secure airside cargo loading area near terminal 4. Police called to the scene found the 35-year-old BA employee had been forced from his van by the robbers who threw him to the ground and bound his wrists.
Then, they transferred eight red cargo cash boxes containing the currency into another similar BA van before driving undetected from the airport.
The cash had arrived at Heathrow on a BA flight from Bahrain and it was destined for John F Kennedy Airport in New York, Scotland Yard added.
UK airport operator British Airports Authority (BAA) was also investigating how the offenders gained access to a security-controlled zone. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
