| Micky McAvoy | |
|---|---|
| Born | England |
| Conviction(s) | Armed robbery |
| Penalty | 25 years |
| Status | Released on parole in 2000 |
| Spouse | Kathleen |
"Mad"[1] Micky McAvoy is a convicted English armed robber who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1984 for heading up the Brink's-MAT robbery. He was captured ten days after the robbery.[2][3] The robbery is considered one of the most notorious ever committed,[4] at the time being labelled "the crime of the century".[5] Despite his 25 year sentence, McAvoy was released on parole in 2000.
The Independent has described McAvoy as "one of South London's top armed robbers".[1]
On 26 November 1983, six robbers broke into the Brink's-MAT warehouse at Heathrow and stole £26 million worth of gold, diamonds and cash in an inside job.[6] Once inside, they poured petrol over staff and threatened them with a lit match if they did not reveal the combination numbers of the vault.[7] McAvoy was caught after security guard insider Anthony Black, a brother-in-law of McAvoy,[8] passed his name to investigating officers and, in December 1983, McAvoy was arrested. In December 1984, McAvoy was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
McAvoy asked his accomplices George Francis and Brian Perry to look after his share of the gold so it would be waiting for him when he got out. Francis was later murdered and McAvoy was thought to be a suspect.[6] Brian Perry also died in suspicious circumstances.
McAvoy started his sentence at Leicester Prison, where he married his second wife, Kathleen in 1987, before being transferred to Whitemoor Prison and then Long Lartin. Attempts to strike a deal to give back his share of the money in exchange for a cut in his sentence failed as by then the money had vanished.[9][10]
In January 1995, the High Court ordered McAvoy to make a payment of £27,488,299, making him responsible for the entire sum stolen.[11]
McAvoy's first wife Jacqueline, the mother of his three children, lost her five-bedroom home after civil courts ruled it was bought with proceeds of the raid.
McAvoy was released in 2000 and is thought to have various homes in Kent and Spain. His nephew Jonathan McAvoy received a life sentence for two counts of conspiracy to commit armed robbery in 2007.[12]
In 1992, a movie called Fools Gold based on the robbery was released with McAvoy portrayed by Sean Bean.[13] A documentary was broadcast on Channel 4 in November 2003 on the events of the raid.[14]