A cash-in-transit driver has been found guilty of being the “inside man” in a plot to steal almost £1million after handcuffing himself to his van’s steering wheel in a faked armed heist.
Andrew Measor, 51, claimed he used his nose to dial his phone to call for help from the Loomis depot in Dagenham, east London, after he was “raided” on December 30 2021.
The driver, who had worked for the firm for around three years, said £920,000 in banknotes had been stolen after a man armed with a gun approached him as he left his home and said: “I know everything that goes on. Just do as I say and everything will be OK.”
But Southwark Crown Court heard Measor handcuffed himself to the steering wheel, then waited two hours before raising the alarm over the faked robbery in Ilford, east London, with Stefanos Cantaris, 39.
Measor, from Loughton, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit theft and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice on Tuesday.
Cantaris, from Epping, who had already pleaded guilty to the theft charge, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, while they were both cleared of conspiracy to launder money.
Cantaris was remanded in custody while Measor was granted conditional bail ahead of sentencing on March 24 but Judge Dafna Spiro warned him he faces a lengthy prison sentence.
The court heard the pair met on numerous occasions in the months leading up to the theft.
While signed off from work after the heist, Measor told a friend that it was “defo an inside job”, prosecutor Catherine Farrelly told the jury.
She said: “That is probably one of the few things upon which Andrew Measor and the prosecution will agree during this trial – that this was an ‘inside job’.
“And so you will want to consider who it was on the inside who was able to provide Stefanos Cantaris and his co-conspirators with the information needed to execute this theft.
Read more:
- Food agency 3Food4U launching food education courses in Epping Forest
- Shamima Begum loses British citizenship removal challenge
“It won’t surprise you to hear me say the prosecution says that the evidence points squarely in the direction of Andrew Measor.”
Ms Farrelly said the theft of the £920,000 was carried out “with the assistance and full participation” of Measor.
“They sought to hide this by faking a robbery,” she said.
“They have then, to the most part, successfully hidden the money that was stolen.”
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, from the Flying Squad, said: "This case is an example of how far proactive policing can go; it was a substantial investigation but has paid off following the outcome in court.
"The two men played their part in executing the plan, but they were not as successful as they’d hoped in covering their tracks.
"The level of planning shows how determined they were to succeed."
They will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, March 24.
Terrance Burrell, 57, from Theydon Bois, Essex; Mark Kendall, 56, from Loughton; Paul McSweeney, 55, from Watford, Hertfordshire; Saimir Neziri, 38, from Barnet, north London; and Christopher Shipp, 35, from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, were acquitted of all three charges.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here