Police hunt for lorry used by 'callous gangsters' in €73m raid
With most of the other vehicles linked to the gangsters now located, officers believe the white Renault lorry could provide a breakthrough.
A white Ford Transit van found in a hotel car park was the latest to be linked to the raid at the depot in Tonbridge, Kent - Britain's biggest robbery. Kent Police could not immediately confirm a report suggesting some of the stolen cash had been found in the van.
As police continued to question three people in connection with the heist, detectives issued the first e-fit of one of the suspects.
He is the suspected of posing as a police officer to kidnap the depot's manager, 51-year-old Colin Dixon.
His wife Lynn, 45, and son Craig, who turned nine yesterday, were also held hostage by the gang.
A senior police officer spoke of how the family had been left "traumatised".
Photographs later emerged showing what appeared to be two police officers wearing white overalls, gloves and face masks removing bags from the rear of the white Transit van.
One news report suggested two large black bags had been taken from the back of the vehicle and driven away in a police convoy.
Kent Police were last night still unable to confirm whether any cash had been recovered from the van.
Speaking about the Dixon family, Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard had said: "This is a traumatic time for the family, we're trying to give them all the support we can in every way we can."
Referring to Craig's birthday, he added: "We've tried to make it special for him. He's had presents today - we're trying to get some of our own presents to him."
A 100-strong police team is hunting the gang, thought to number at least six, who escaped with up to £50 million (€73.5m).
"We have got callous professional gangsters that we need to catch and Kent Police have got a track record for doing so and we're going to bring these people to book but we need (the public's) help to do so," Mr Leppard said.
He pledged to protect witnesses who may be able to offer clues about the robbery, which happened on Wednesday morning.
Mr Leppard also appealed to those "around the edge" of the robbery, who knew who was directly responsible, to come forward.
"If you are one of the people who may have been involved with the periphery of this investigation, then please give us a call now."
Key to the investigation are the five vehicles recovered so far, all of which are now being pored over by forensic experts in the hunt for clues.
"The recovery of these cars and the van is an important development for us," Mr Leppard said.
"Clearly the Volvo - one of the cars we suspect was used by the gang - has been used in the last 24 hours and we'd like to hear from anyone who may have seen it being driven, or who was driving it."
In addition to the white Transit van, police have also found a red van with Parcelforce graphics on the sides in the village of Hucking, near Maidstone.
Police suspect it had linked up with a dark saloon car used by the gang to transport the depot manager's wife and their son in the Faversham area.
Detectives have also recovered the Volvo saloon car thought to have been used by the robbers to first kidnap Mr Dixon on the A249 near Stockbury.
It was found by firefighters burning in the village of Leeds near Maidstone on Thursday.
Mr Dixon's car, a silver Nissan Almera, was also found on Thursday, parked in the Cock Horse pub at Detling.
Police also revealed last night that another vehicle had been recovered from Burberry Lane in Leeds, where the Volvo Saloon was found.
"I can't confirm at this stage whether or not it is linked to the investigation," Mr Leppard said.
However, the most important vehicle, the white Renault lorry - which the gang used to remove the old and new bank notes from the depot - is still outstanding.
The lorry is thought to be a Midland-type vehicle, possibly having up to a dozen cages in it of different sizes to transport the money.
The three people being interviewed over the robbery were all held yesterday.
A 29-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, arrested in Forest Hill, south London, are being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery.
A 41-year-old woman is being questioned on suspicion of handling stolen goods. She was arrested at a building society after staff called police when she pulled out a bundle of banknotes bound with tape marked Tonbridge.
The e-fit released by police was of a man who posed as a police officer to trick Mr Dixon - who was forced to help the gang - to get into the Volvo.
The gang member was said to be white, 6ft to 6ft 1in, with a scruffy ginger beard that was "wiry and wispy" and may have been false. He had freckles on his cheeks and dark eyebrows.
He was wearing a high visibility jacket and a police-style cap. A police expert worked with the depot manager to compile the images. One shows the gang member as he looked at the time and the second as he might appear without a beard and a hat.
It may be some days before police were able to say the exact amount of money taken in the raid.
One of the largest rewards in British criminal history - up to £2m (€2.93m) - is on offer for information that leads to the convictions of the gang.
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