LONDONLONDON (Reuters) - Seven men and a woman on trial over the theft of 53 million pounds in the biggest ever robbery were driven by "greed, pure and simple", a London court heard on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the record haul was seized by an armed gang in a "terrifying" raid on a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent in February last year.
Members of the gang had prepared for the heist by kidnapping the depot manager, Colin Dixon, his wife Lynn and their young child, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
John Fowler, Michelle Hogg, Ermir Hysenaj, Stuart Royle, Lea Rusha, Jetmir Bucpapa and Roger Coutts are all accused of conspiracy to kidnap the Dixons, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to possess a firearm.
An eighth defendant, Keith Borer, is accused of handling stolen goods -- 6,100 pounds suspected of having been taken from Securitas, which stockpiles cash for banks and large retailers.
All eight deny the charges.
Prosecutor John Nutting told the Old Bailey courtroom -- guarded by two armed police officers -- that the motive for the crime was "greed, pure and simple.
He said the defendants were all motivated by "the prospect of dishonest gain almost beyond the dreams of avarice."
The robbery began when Dixon was stopped on his way back to his home 50 miles from the depot by two men dressed as policemen, Nutting said.
He was then taken at gunpoint to an isolated farm belonging to Fowler.
Other men, also dressed as policemen, arrived at Dixon's home and took his wife and their child to the farm after telling them Dixon was in hospital following a car crash.
In the early hours of the next morning the gang, dressed in black, wearing balaclavas and "brandishing deadly weapons" arrived at the depot.
They took 14 employees captive while they loaded the cash into a large waiting lorry.
The terrified staff were told they would be killed unless they did what they were told.
"For many, the mental scars and psychological effects still persist: Flashbacks, mood swings, fear of strangers and fear of the dark, so terrifying was their ordeal," Nutting said.
The court was told that Hysenaj was the inside man who gave the robbers details of the depot.
Hogg, trained in the application of prosthetics, provided disguises for the gang, the court heard.
Police have so far recovered 21 million pounds but the rest remains outstanding. The trial continues.