In February 2000, armed men tried to pull off a £10 million raid on a security van in Nine Elms, South London. The gunmen had stopped the security van by blocking off both ends of Nine Elms Lane. They had planned to use their own lorry, which was carrying Christmas trees, as a battering ram. This lorry had a huge metal spike welded into the chassis and covered by the foliage. The gang planned to split the security van's rear doors with the ram. The gang's plan failed when a motorist who was late for work removed the keys from the ignition of the unattended Christmas tree lorry. The robbers, left with no choice, made their escape in an inflatable speedboat towards Chelsea. It was attempted again on 7 July in Aylesford, Kent. This time, the gang got even closer to the cash, with the metal spike being rammed into the van. They were seconds from taking the money when an unexpected police car appeared the gang shot at the approaching car and again made their escape in an inflatable speedboat.ĭetective Superintendent Jon Shatford stated that this attempted robbery brought to his attention a gang which was capable of carrying out a robbery with this level of planning. This unsuccessful attack provided the police with important clues and led them to track some of the vehicles that were used in the raid to two isolated farms in rural Kent these properties were then put under 24-hour surveillance.Īfter this unsuccessful robbery, the police received a tip-off about the Dome raid from an informer. At a meeting between detectives to discuss the Nine Elms Lane attempted robbery and the information that the informer had provided about the Dome raid, one detective who had recently visited the dome quipped, "Maybe they are after the Millennium jewels?" It was this comment that led to beginning an investigation into the raid. On 1 September 2000, the team identified three of the suspected robbers – Lee Wenham, Raymond Betson and William Cockram – at the Dome. It was then found that every time they had visited the attraction, the Thames was at high tide. They were observed visiting the exhibition and recording video footage, leading the police to suspect that the exhibition could be a target. The surveillance on the men was significantly increased and the Dome was placed under close watch. #The very organized thief christmas tree trial#.
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