Heathrow sting was 'perfect crime'

There were no guns, no knives, just two men and a van. And in the space of 26 minutes they hijacked a British Airways security van, snatched £4.6 million in US dollar bills, and then just disappeared.

Small wonder, then, that one of the most experienced detectives in the business today called it "a perfect robbery".

John O'Connor, former head of the Flying Squad, also offered this gloomy prognostication: that if the money is not found within 24 hours, it probably never will be.

However, while the Heathrow raid was obviously the result of meticulous planning, and while urgent questions are being asked about airport security and how the thieves managed to penetrate "airside" security, the police have one thing in their favour: that there is only a very limited number of people who would have had access to the sort of information needed to plan such an operation.

How did they get past security? How did they know what flights were landing when? How did they know which van to target?

As Mr O'Connor put it: "I'd say it is a total inside job. As far as suspects go, I wouldn't be looking any further than BA's employee list. These people had the kind of information only employees would know.

"On the airport itself, you would need to have an expert knowledge of the traffic lanes and systems that serve the aircraft, otherwise you would stand out like a beacon. Whoever did this knew exactly which plane, the time, even the right apron where it would pull up."

The heist began as a BA Boeing 777 touched down at 6.30am yesterday from Bahrain. As the passengers were taken to the Terminal Four building by coach, the money - around $6.5 million in used bills, together with some Middle Eastern currency - was loaded on to a Transit van to be driven across the airport for a connecting flight to New York.

It never got that far. As the driver checked the load another van, a Renault in BA's grey, red and blue livery pulled up alongside and the two men inside told the 35-year-old driver there had been a mistake and the money should go on their van.

Then the two men, who were apparently unarmed, overpowered the driver and tied his hands and ankles with plastic zip ties. He was later treated in hospital for shock and minor injuries to his wrists.

In the space of no more than three minutes the two thieves moved the money, which was in eight red plastic crates and weighed about a quarter of a ton, from one van to the other before driving off at speed.

Within five minutes the alarm had been raised and all Heathrow's security gates were shut. But it was too late. The robbers were already on their way to Feltham, where they dumped the Renault in a muddy lane and set fire to it.

One of the main questions is how the robbers - who are described as Asian and are believed to have been wearing blue BAstyle dungarees and jackets - entered the restricted "airside" cargo loading area. To enter such an area, staff must swipe their photo ID cards through a machine linked to a security computer. Vehicles and staff are also subject to rigorous searches.

Airport operator BAA is also investigating how the thieves gained access to a security-controlled zone. A spokeswoman said it was possible the suspects had legitimate security passes.

"We are working closely with the police. We do not know yet if the offenders had legitimate security passes or not."

A senior Scotland Yard source said: "We are checking hundreds of employees and former employees looking for any who have suddenly vanished or who would have had the required knowledge to pull off this type of crime."

How, too, did they get hold of the van? A police spokeswoman said: "It was a legitimate BA van. No such van was reported stolen prior to the robbery." One theory is that the van had been stolen from an airport garage where it was being serviced.

Whatever the answers to such questions, it is clear there was a highly embarrassing breach of security - all the worse because it comes in the wake of 11 September.