A gunman who led a raid on a Heathrow warehouse while waving a stolen police warrant card in one hand and a loaded pistol in the other, claimed to have been 'set up' by a police informer and a bent copper, a court heard.
"There is no dispute that an armed robbery took place," prosecutor Stephen Warner told a jury at Isleworth Crown Court. "The central issue will be whether, when Jonathan Aldridge took part in it, he did so acting under duress exercised upon him by others who instigated the robbery and forced him to participate in it.
"The position is this," continued counsel.
"It may be said that a man called Anselm Peries and a police officer called Det Con Andrew Jones, were somehow involved in it.
"However, at no stage did DC Jones report back that Peries had provided him with any information about the robbery and nor was the tenor or content of any conversation between them about the robbery".
Both men were under surveillance at the time and have since appeared on charges of corruption at Harrow Crown Court, said Mr Warner.
There was also police surveillance on the gang of six men who herded staff at the Omega Security Express freight depot, into a container and bound them, before driving off with a load of computer and electronic equipment.
Police had watched their every move and stopped them as they tried to leave the Central Trading Estate at Hounslow, said Mr Warner.
With the whole of the armed robbery captured on police video, five of the men have admitted their roles. They are Lee Cameron, 45, of Belvedere House, Lemon Grove, Feltham, Abley Diop, 30, of Runnymede House, Kingsmead Estate, Hackney, John Sheehan, 24, Jamie Tripp, 22 and Harry Harris, 23, who all refused further details. They will be sentenced at the end of the trial.
Jonathan Aldridge, 35, who also refused further details and appeared to be the leader, denies charges of robbing Omega Security Express freight depot of nearly £35,000 worth of goods on January 31; having a firearm with intent to commit robbery and having ammunition without a firearms certificate on the same day.
Opening the case against him, prosecutor Stephen Warner told the jury "This defendant with five others carried out an armed robbery on a Saturday morning at Omega Security Express.
"The team arrived in a stolen lorry and a stolen Audi car. The defendant produced a loaded handgun. Employees were collected together while the team searched for goods and one of them was forced to help load the lorry using a fork-lift truck. The employees were forced into a container and tied up using cable ties before the team left," said counsel.
"On that day the police had a surveillance operation in place," he went on. "The team had been followed to the warehouse and they were stopped and arrested shortly after they left".
The story started in the Great South West Road at Hounslow where the stolen silver Audi, displaying false number plates, met with a blue Honda Civic and drove in convoy.
The Honda was left in Salisbury Road with the keys nearby and the Audi went to the trading estate where its occupants picked up a stolen Palletline lorry, said counsel.
They went to Omega where: "This defendant got out and walked quickly to where employees were standing and told them he was from the Flying Squad.
"He said the place opposite was about to be robbed and they should move to the back of the warehouse. They did as they were told," said counsel.
Another employee, Victor Brown, was found and made to join the others. "Jennifer King was working in the office when she became aware of this defendant and his ID card. He told her he was Special Branch and she asked to see the warrant card. He said he would show it to her later and she was made to join the others," said Mr Warner. "She saw strangers wearing hoods and realised then that they were being robbed".
"Aldridge took out a silver pistol and pressed it into her neck and started swearing and shouting and telling her to get down. The gun was passed to Diop who told the staff not to move or do anything silly. He was waving the gun around," said counsel.
Ms King was asked if she could drive a fork-lift truck and was made to load goods into the back of the lorry. Asked where the valuable items were, she indicated "Anything with IBM written on it". The rest of the gang were searching the warehouse for goods which she was made to load.
Aldridge told Ms King "We can do this one of two ways. Either you can identify me or I'll take your details and find out where you live". "She said she understood that," said Mr Warner.
The employees were then herded into a container truck and tied in pairs with cable ties. "The defendant told them they should wait for half an hour. After that he would ring head office and tell them what happened", said counsel.
"While all this was going on the police surveillance was going on and they managed to capture most of the events including the arrival of the lorry, the loading of the lorry and some of the movements of the team inside the warehouse. The defendant appeared to be supervising and directing while it was taking place," said Mr Warner.
Police were waiting at the exit to the trading estate where the Audi and the lorry were stopped and all six men arrested. Various incriminating items were found in the Audi and all the stolen goods were recovered.
The trial, expected to last two weeks, continues.
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