Behind-bars cage fighter raid suspect

9:25am Monday 20th August 2007

A PROFESSIONAL cage fighter currently in jail in Morocco has been identified as one of the main conspirators in Britain's largest cash robbery.

An Old Bailey jury has heard it suggested the fighter probably started planning the raid, at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge in February last year, as early as July 2005.

The fighter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is alleged to have bought custom-made surveillance equipment from a security expert and inquired about tracking devices and scanners.

He is in custody in Rabat, Morocco, awaiting extradition proceedings. Police hope to bring him back to this country to stand trial next year.

Phillip Stevens, boss of security company Eye-Tek in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, told the court how he wired a tiny camera into a pair of jeans and a belt as part of a kit sold in January last year for £300.

Prosecutors claim it was bought by the fighter.

Mr Stevens said it was the first time he had been asked to fix a camera into some jeans.

He said he remembered it because it was so unusual, as the camera would have been filming at waist height, where usually people film others' faces.

After sticking the camera to the jeans, he widened the hole in the belt to so the lens would not be obstructed.

It is alleged the jeans were then passed to one of the accused, Emir Hysenaj, aged 27, who worked at the depot, so he could film inside it before the raid.

It is alleged the fighter bought a second camera used by another defendant, Lea Rusha, aged 24, who used it to carry out undercover surveillance on depot manager Colin Dixon and his wife, Lynn.

The fighter is said to have inquired about a tracking stick which can be concealed in a car and, when plugged into a computer, reveals a log of the car's movements.

The jury heard he bought a paintball mask identical to those used in the raid and his phone records show he was in constant contact with the other alleged robbers in the months before the raid.

Mr Dixon, his wife and young son were kidnapped, and 14 staff threatened and handcuffed during the £53m heist.

Eight people are now on trial in connection with the robbery.

Seven, including garage owner Roger Coutts, aged 30, of The Green, Welling, and hairdresser Michelle Hogg, aged 32, of Brinklow Crescent, Woolwich, deny conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to possess a firearm while committing an offence.

The eighth man denies handling stolen goods.

The trial continues.