The Biggest Ever Robbery

Colin Dixon is the manager of a secure depot where bank notes are stored for the Bank of England. On 21 February he was kidnapped by two men posing as police officers. His wife and eight year old son were also abducted. The kidnappers then forced Mr Dixon to return to the depot and to let one of the kidnappers in. At gunpoint, the robber then forced a member of the staff at the depot to open the gates. The rest of the gang and several vehicles entered the depot. It took the robbers nearly an hour to load money into a white Renault truck, which they then drove away. The police have said that the thieves stole £53 million. This was therefore the largest ever cash robbery in Britain. Since the robbery, the police have found several of the vehicles used by the gang, including the white Renault truck. They have also found £1.3 million in cash as well as guns and other equipment which they think the gang used. They have arrested several people and searched a farm not far from the depot. They have now charged three people in connection with the crime. The police say that they are confident that they can find the rest of the gang, and recover the rest of the money, but that it may take some time. There are lots of words connected with crime in this podcast. The verb TO STEAL (stole, stolen) means to take something which does not belong to you. If I steal something, then I am a THIEF (plural, THIEVES), and the crime I commit is called THEFT. For example, today’s story was about the theft of £53 million. To ROB someone means to take something from someone, normally by force. The gang in today’s story were thieves, but they were also ROBBERS. They didn’t just take £53 million, they used guns, threats and kidnapping to do so. The crime they committed is called ROBBERY. KIDNAP and ABDUCT mean about the same thing – to take someone away against their will and hold them, sometimes in order to collect a ransom. AT GUNPOINT means “with a gun pointing at you”. The police have ARRESTED several people. That means that these people are forced to remain at a police station while the police question them. Three people have now been CHARGED. That means that the police have formally accused them of a crime.