The £80m sting: How police foiled the Heathrow bullion heist

One of the biggest robberies in British history ­ it would have dwarfed the Great Train Robbery and the Brinks-Mat gold bullion heist ­ was foiled yesterday by a police "sting" operation.

One of the biggest robberies in British history ­ it would have dwarfed the Great Train Robbery and the Brinks-Mat gold bullion heist ­ was foiled yesterday by a police "sting" operation.

Seven men were arrested near Heathrow airport by armed officers after the gang had forced its way into a warehouse holding £80m in gold and cash. The raiders threatened staff with a variety of guns, knives and cudgels and then began loading gold ingots into the back of a van.

About 100 police officers from the Flying Squad and the Metropolitan Police's armed response team were, however, lying in wait, having tracked the group for weeks. Officers disabled the raiders' van by firing Hatton rounds ­ bullets designed to deflate tyres with minimum damage ­ before arresting six men, all aged in their 30s.

A seventh member of the gang ran off across fields and forced his way into a house, where he was arrested minutes later. An eighth man escaped by hijacking a van at the warehouse complex and forcing the driver to smash through an entrance barrier. The driver and van were later abandoned and the man was still at large last night.

Detective Superintendent Barry Phillips, of the Flying Squad, said the raid "would have been one of the biggest robberies ever committed in the UK". He added: "History will show that this is just as significant an attempted robbery in the 21st century as the Great Train Robbery and Brinks-Mat."

He described the gang as career criminals. "They knew where the gold bullion was located inside the premises and went straight for it."

In the Brinks-Mat robbery in 1983, £26m of gold was stolen from Heathrow airport; in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 £2.3m ­ worth about £40m today ­ was taken. The biggest attempted robbery remains the raid on the Millennium Dome in which a gang was caught in 2000 trying to steal £350m worth of diamonds.

Yesterday's raid began just before 10am when the gang drove up to a security barrier at the entrance to the Swissport cargo warehouse in Bedfont Road on the outskirts of Heathrow. The intruders were allowed through the gate after presenting what appeared to be legitimate paperwork allowing them to collect precious metal.

But instead of waiting in a holding area until called, the gang drove to the back of the warehouse. Their Ford Transit van was reversed at speed through the metal shutters of the warehouse. The armed raiders, some of whom were wearing balaclavas, leapt from the vehicle and then threatened staff.

Dozens of officers then entered the warehouse and ordered the robbers to lay down their weapons. The arrests were made after a short struggle in which a policeman was injured.

A British Airways cabin attendant, Melissa Newnam, was standing outside the Swissport office block, which is also used as a check-in point for cabin staff, when the raiders smashed their way into the warehouse. She said: "I just heard all this commotion and shouting going on. At first I thought someone had banged into someone's car and didn't realise there was a robbery attempt going on."

The Flying Squad had kept the gang under surveillance for several weeks. The suspects were being investigated as part of Operation Grafton, a year-long inquiry into a series of robberies in and around Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

Det Supt Phillips said: "It is clear that a lot of planning and preparation went into the attack but the Met's Flying Squad was one step ahead of the team for some time."

It was unclear last night exactly how much cash was being kept in a security vault at the warehouse, but the police estimated it was between £30m and £40m, with a similar value of gold.

The arrests are a triumph for the Flying Squad, which has rebuilt its reputation in the past few years after being damaged by a spate of corruption scandals. The squad was made famous by the antics of the detectives Regan and Carter, played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, in the 1970s television series The Sweeney.

Patrick Lennon, spokesman for Swissport, which looks after valuable cargo for several airlines, said that anyone entering their complex had to pass through a security system. "They had legitimate papers to go in and allegedly collect a consignment," he said. Warehouse staff were not alerted to the raid and several were in shock afterwards, Mr Lennon said. "No staff were injured. However, some were upset by the incident and counselling has been arranged for them," he said.

A spokesman for the Heathrow operator, BAA, said it had worked closely with police on security and emphasised that the raid was outside its perimeter.

BRITAIN'S BIGGEST RAIDS

By Danielle Demetriou

July 1987, Knightsbridge, London, £60m

Two men entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre before producing guns and overpowering staff. A notice was left on the door stating that it was closed until the next day before boxes were emptied. Bloody fingerprints took police to Valerio Viccei, who was later convicted.

November 1983, >Heathrow, London, £26m

Six men broke into the Brink's-Mat high security vault at Heathrow Airport. They took an estimated 6,800 gold bars and £100,000 of diamonds. Only two of the robbers have been convicted and £10m is still unaccounted for.

February 2002, Heathrow, London, £6.5m

A gang of thieves attacked the driver of a security van carrying foreign currency which had recently arrived on board a British Airways flight from Bahrain. After forcing the driver to the ground and binding his wrists, the thieves escaped with £6.5m in cash.

April 1983, Shoreditch, east London, £6m

Nearly £6m was stolen from the east London Security Express headquarters. Ronnie Knight, the former husband of the actress Barbara Windsor, fled to Spain for 10 years after the heist. Upon his return, he denied taking part in the robbery but was jailed with his brother after admitting handling some of the proceeds.

August 1963, Great Train Robbery, Bridego Bridge, £2.6m

In one of the most infamous armed robberies in the UK, a 15-strong ski mask-clad gang stole £2.6m, mostly in used notes after raiding a Royal Mail train. A man on the train was severely injured by a blow to a head before the group, including Ronnie Biggs, fled.