Northern Bank Robbery

mike65

Any thoughts? Apart from wow, thats a lorra lorra lolly?

Given its length and complexity one can't help but suspect well oiled paramilitary group with some help from the inside. The PSNI are refraining from guessing understandably but if it should be a terror group or ppl with connections to interested parties in the peace process one wonders what the fall out might be.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4117219.stm

Mike.

Agent Smith

it was a load of money,

question. if it turns out to be a loyalst group, would pasley step down?

De Hipster

agent smith wrote:

it was a load of money,

question. if it turns out to be a loyalst group, would pasley step down?

Why? His party has no 'official' paramilitary links.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Boggle

I know everyone reckons its a paramilitary group or something but aside from past experience I'm not sure how they come up with this. They reckoned on Prime Time that it must have been a gang of up to 25 people but in fairness - armed with the right kind of info, a gang of 5 or 6 people could have carried out the robbery.

And the info could have been gotten by sending some 'blond' up to any worker in a bar some night.... One of the workers ould even have been in on it!

De Hipster

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

I respect the man (not his politics necessarily), Northern Ireland would have had fewer people to bring humour to the situation otherwise.

dahamsta

mike65 wrote:

Any thoughts? Apart from wow, thats a lorra lorra lolly?

Guess who watched the Cilla special.

mike65

dahamsta wrote:

Guess who watched the Cilla special.

Not me guv! I guess her Professional Scouse ways have invaded my subconcious...

Mike.

ReefBreak

Don't be surprised if (former?) Republican and Loyalists terrorists were working together on this one. It wouldn't be the first time they've joined together for criminal activities.

Sand

They reckoned on Prime Time that it must have been a gang of up to 25 people but in fairness - armed with the right kind of info, a gang of 5 or 6 people could have carried out the robbery.

Very difficult - they had to hold two families hostage over a fairly long period of time and at the same time have enough guys to load the van with the cash, keep an eye out for trouble, watch the two executives to make sure they didnt run off, etc etc.

Don't be surprised if (former?) Republican and Loyalists terrorists were working together on this one. It wouldn't be the first time they've joined together for criminal activities.

It would be an interesting cross-community iniative alright.

thejollyrodger

Personally I would love to see the loyalists found the ones responsible for this and see what Pailsely says. Then it would be even better if a few days later the PSNI say its the provos.

Pasley would first say nothing much then call for an end of the peace process.

BCB

Without wanting to point the finger at anybody but personally i dont think any criminal element or any other paramilitary grouping barring the Provisional IRA would have the capability or sheer balls to carry out such an audacious robbery..inside information was the key here of that i have no doubt........

FTA69

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

UVF in 1966?
Ulster Resistance?
Third Force anyone?

Don't forget the fact that the DUP ally themselves to Loyalist death squads on parades commisions as well as the fact as marching side by side with UVF and UDA colour parties.

Hardly the actions of outright condemnation I'd say.

Our man in Havana

The Idiots stole 20+ million in new nothernn notes, which will be almost impossible to get rid of as they are no good outside of NI and the bank and the police know the serial numbers. Very clever indeed.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

finlma

Bond-007 wrote:

The Idiots stole 20+ million in new nothernn notes

Hardly idiots. Smart guys I'd say. The fact that they organised a robbery of this magnitude means they have some plan to launder the cash. Its not that difficult to launder money with the right contacts.

I say all due respect to them. The banks rob from everyone of us every day and these guys were brave enough to pull a heist.

Expect to see Oceans 25 on your screens next Christmas.

AmenToThat

Bond-007 wrote:

The Idiots stole 20+ million in new nothernn notes, which will be almost impossible to get rid of as they are no good outside of NI and the bank and the police know the serial numbers. Very clever indeed.

Whatever you want to call them idiots they are not!
IF it was the provos they have a very sophisticated laundering operation throughout the island so Im sure they will be able to dispose of millions of the new notes within the six counties, considering the voulme of sales at thsi time of year they probably are as we speak

Kingsize

still its 22 million of one of the most difficult currencies to get rid of ,i couldnt even buy a burger with a NI £10 last time i was in England.& they used a getaway van so unique the police have yet to find a lookalike to show people???
There wasnt really that much to it & to be honest I reckon they will be caught.( unless of course theres police colllusion - surely no??)
I think there might have been paramiltary "muscle" involved for which they will recieve a hefty tribute payment.
But the whole thing seems a bit amateurish (or possibly insiderish )despite the massive haul.

The Muppet

Even if £12 million is traceable that still leaves at least £8 million that is not. That's still a considerable haul. Idiots ? I think not.

Hobbes

Kingsize wrote:

they used a getaway van so unique the police have yet to find a lookalike to show people???

Did it look like this? If so I think I know who did it.
...

As far as I can see they pulled it off pretty well. Laundering the money would of also been factored in.

BuffyBot

The banks rob from everyone of us every day and these guys were brave enough to pull a heist.

Of course, in the long run, the cost is passed on to the customer in some way or form - so yeah, that's a better deal for the customer...

Nuttzz

lol hobbes!

They should have done a southern bank there is a much better market to dispose euros in. I think someone saw the Money train episode of "The Shield" and thought theres an idea, Anytime I'm in England I always have hassle with NI notes, I'm sure they can sit on them for a while but its gone from about £1m a man to about £400k a man, bit of a bummer for them!

Villain

My gut feeling is breakaway Republicans, and I'm very concerned that if this turns out to be true, it will cause grave consequences for the peace Process.

Poker_Peter

They'll have to dump 2/3rds of it at least because they are brand new notes and they are therefore easier to track down and far harder to launder.

spongebob

I am hereby authorised to offer you all £50 notes for £6 each and £100 notes for £10 each seeing as you are interested. NI notes only, hard currency not available , sorry. Bulk discounts apply

Simply post your details in the thread below with your indicative offers and desired quantities.

Buyer collects .

M

marco murphy

If it was the provos theyll spread the money around.

The Muppet

Poblachtach wrote:

If it was the provos theyll spread the money around.

Aye happy days for luxury car dealers and builders.

MrPudding

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

You have obviously never tried to spend NI money outside of NI. It is almost impossible to spend it in England or Wales. You can have some success in Scotland, they are used to the concept of non Bank of England money as they have their own also.

I had to go to a bank once in Liverpool to change my NI note into BOE as nowhere would accept it. The cashier tried to charge me a foreign exchange commission.

I heard it said that the robbers were probably very surprised at the amount of cash in the vault, it is reckoned that they expected nowhere near that amount.

I would think that even 8 million will be fairly hard to launder in an area as small as NI. I am assuming the new notes are not worth the plastic they are printed on.

Boggle wrote:

I know everyone reckons its a paramilitary group or something but aside from past experience I'm not sure how they come up with this. They reckoned on Prime Time that it must have been a gang of up to 25 people but in fairness - armed with the right kind of info, a gang of 5 or 6 people could have carried out the robbery.

My understanding is that there was nearly 20 people involved in the kidnapping and hostage holding alone.

Paramilitaries are a convienient party to blame and are probably worth looking at by the PSNI. They tend to have lots of resources available, are reasonably good at keeping things quiet and some have experience with holding families hostage in order to get people to carry out tasks for them. Several car bombs were delivered in the past by men whose families where being held at gunpoint.

MrP

marco murphy

A Republicans House was raided and 16 pairs of shoes taken.(This Morning)

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Hobbes

They had it on TV just now. A few houses raided in Republican areas. Chrissy presents opened as well. Sounds like harrassment to get a response.

They also mentioned on TV that NI bank might recall all currency and redesign it.