The Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery
On July 12, 1987, the Knightsbridge Security Deposit Robbery occurred in Cheval Place, Knightsbridge, England, which is part of the City of Westminster in London. This robbery is regarded as one of the biggest bank robberies of all time.
Valerio Viccei (1955–2000), a lawyer's son who arrived in London in 1986 from his native Italy, where he was wanted for 50 armed robberies, led the robbery. He quickly resumed his robbery career in London to fund his playboy lifestyle. On this occasion, he obtained inside assistance by enlisting the assistance of the center's managing director, Parvez Latif, a cocaine user who was heavily in debt.
Two men entered the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre on the day of the robbery and asked to rent a safe deposit box. They drew handguns after being led into the vault and subdued the manager and security guards. The thieves then hung a sign on the street-level door stating that the Safe Deposit Centre was temporarily closed, allowing more accomplices to enter. They broke open many of the safe deposit boxes and left with a hoard worth £60 million (roughly US$98 million at the 1987 exchange rate).
The shift changed one hour after the robbers left, and the new staff discovered the crime and alerted the police. A bloody fingerprint was discovered and traced back to Valerio Viccei by police forensic investigators. Following a period of surveillance, several of his associates were apprehended during a series of coordinated raids on August 12, 1987, and were later convicted of the crime. Viccei, on the other hand, fled to Latin America for a while. When he returned to England to retrieve and ship his Ferrari Testarossa to Latin America, police arrested him by blocking the road, smashing his car's front windscreen, and dragging him out.
Stolen: $98 million
