George Francis (suspected criminal)

The Brink's-Mat robbery at the Heathrow International Trading Estate on 26 November 1983 saw a record £26 million (today approximately £500 million) worth of gold bullion, diamonds and cash stolen from a warehouse. The bullion was the property of Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd, which collapsed the following year after making large loans to fraudsters and insolvent firms. Many of the robbery gang were convicted, but the majority of the gold has never been recovered.

Insurers Lloyd’s of London paid out for the losses. Several murders have been linked to the case, plus links established to the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary over 30 years later in April 2015.

The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred early on 26 November 1983 when six robbers broke into the Brink's-Mat warehouse, Unit 7 of the Heathrow International Trading Estate near Heathrow Airport in west London. At the time, it was described as "the crime of the century".

The gang gained entry to the warehouse from security guard Anthony Black. Once inside, they poured petrol over staff and threatened them with a lit match if they did not reveal the combination numbers of the vault. The robbers thought they were going to steal £3.2 million in cash, but they found three tonnes of gold bullion and stole £26 million (approximately £500 million in 2017 pounds) worth of gold, diamonds and cash.

Two days after the robbery, a couple saw a white-hot crucible operating in a garden hut at a neighbour's property near Bath, Somerset. Suspecting it may be linked to the bullion robbery, they immediately informed the police. The police arrived and were shown the hut, but they said it was just beyond their jurisdiction and said they would pass the information on to the police responsible for that area. The couple were never asked to give a statement to police or give evidence in court. No explanation has been given for the police failure to follow up immediately on the tip-off. Only 14 months later were the premises raided, the smelter found, and occupier John Palmer, a local jeweller and bullion dealer, arrested. In court, Palmer said he was unaware the gold was linked to the robbery and he was cleared of all charges. For this incident, Palmer acquired the soubriquet of "Goldfinger".

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Wikipedia