As a company who specialises in security, our number one priority is keeping both you and your property safe. As well as being a locksmiths in Kent, we also provide CCTV systems and intruder alarms. This is the reason why we find stories to do with security so fascinating!

We started a series earlier this month which looked at some of the most secure places in the world. These were the places that are considered as being impossible to break into, ones that you wouldn’t even come close to doing so.

We looked at Fort Knox which is home to the US Bullion Depository, Area 51 which is a mysterious USA Air Force base, the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and the Mormon Church’s secret vaults.

Today we will carry on looking at some more of these incredibly secure places from all around the globe.

Air Force One

Air Force One is considered as being one of the most secure moving locations in the world and one of the best built planes ever made. The plane, which belongs to the President of the United States, has plenty of security. With an absolute wealth of tech packages, it features air-to-air defence and the world’s most advanced flight avoidance system.

The model of the plane is a modified Boeing 747-200B series aircraft.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land that runs across the Korean Peninsula, which was established at the end of the Korean War to serve as a buffer zone between the north and south.

This strip of land between both of the borders is thought of as being one of the most heavily guarded locations in the world – and as a result, civilians refuse to cross it.

Cheyenne Mountain Complex

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a military installation and nuclear bunker that is located in Colorado Springs, USA. It was a former government complex that once served as headquarters for the North American Aerospace Defence Command and U.S. Space command missions.

It has a hidden tunnel network that is extremely well guarded, with the tunnel being protected by solid granite reinforcements. It was built at the hight of the Cold War, so no surprise that it’s more than capable of withstanding a multimegaton nuclear detonation.

It also has blast doors that are said to weigh around 25 tons each.

ADX Florence Prison

ADX Florence Prison is a supermax prison for men that is located in Colorado. It houses the very worse of criminals, those who are considered to be the most dangerous in the USA and need the most control. It’s thought of being a place that is impossible to break in or out!

The security measures at the prison are extreme, with attack dogs guarding 12-foot barbed wire fences – but that’s not the only protection, with motion detector laser beams, cameras and almost 1500 remotely controlled steel doors.

Communication with the outside world is forbidden and the place is surrounded by heavily armed guards at all times.

Although we can’t promise security solutions that are as quite as incredible as all the ones mentioned above, we can promise to help protect your property – whether it’s domestic or commercial.

At AFS Security, we are a professional locksmith who can analyse your security requirements and provide the appropriate solutions.

If you would like to speak to us about the services we offer, or you have any questions, please contact us by calling us on 0208 471 9000 and a member of our staff will be happy to help you out.

“Mr Ginger, Mr Strong, Mr Montana, The Gent, The Tall Man and The Old Man.” No, not the cast of a cheap Reservoir Dogs rip-off, but the names with which the press have christened a team of thieves behind one of Britain’s most recent jewel heists. That’s right, it’s time to take a look at another audacious robbery, and this time it turns out we don’t have to look very far; the already infamous Hatton Garden heist happened just over a month ago and quickly hit the front pages.

Well, we say quickly, but it actually didn’t get to the papers quite as rapidly as you might have expected. Although the crime was carried out over Easter, it wasn’t discovered until staff at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company returned to work after their long weekend. That’s right – the gang was able to break into a safe deposit facility with premises underground, make away with between £60m and £200m worth of loot, and get away without the crime even being discovered for several days. So how can that have happened?

The Operation

The story begins on Thursday the 2^nd of April – when the building’s staff lock up and prepare to spend a four day Easter break at home.  After they leave, three men pile out of a white van and try to look inconspicuous as they drag wheelie bins into the building.

Very little is known about how events unfold after they disappear inside, however the evidence points towards the burglars entering through the lift shaft and then drilling into the vault, using an industrial drill to create multiple holes in a wall which was 50cm thick. This drilling must have taken several hours, and although it seems incredible that nobody on the outside heard what was happening, that’s not the most unlikely part of tale – what seems especially amazing in hindsight is the fact that the alarm was tripped, and yet nobody responded to stop the thieves.

 That’s probably because the police usually base their response on the alarm company’s recommendations, and if resources are tight and there’s reason to suspect that the alarm was tripped accidentally then it shoots to the bottom of their priorities. Most of the facts that we do have about what happened across the four day heist comes from CCTV footage released by the press on April 10^th. The glimpses of activity we’ve seen show three gang members chatting and loading items into their van on Good Friday, a man – Mr Ginger – returning on the Saturday and entering the vault, later joined by two more men, and the gang returning early on Sunday morning before spending approximately  20 minutes loading their equipment into the van.

The crime is discovered on Tuesday morning, when the staff arrive to find their building in a state of chaos.

The Pay Off

So what did these criminals actually take from the building? After the four day period spent raiding the building, they made away with diamonds which are probably worth around £60million, although upper estimates have put that total much higher, at a cool 200 million. Either way, this makes it a crime which will go down in memory as one of the big heists of the 21^st Century – perhaps big enough, and certainly intriguing enough, to one day be commemorated in the movies. In fact, the loot itself adds one more layer of mystery, as the gang ignored hundreds of boxes, ultimately only opening 72. Could this suggest that they were after one particular prize?

The Consequences

To date nobody has been arrested in connection with the case, although many have begun to ask whether the shadowy ‘King of Diamonds’ – a criminal who robbed a diamond store in 2007 – could have been behind the crime. One consequence we have seen is an insurance boom, with double the number of customers now insuring the items that are placed in safety deposit boxes as everybody tries to avoid seeing their valuables disappear from under their noses.

It’s a fascinating crime, and one which reminds us just how important it is to make sure that top quality security measures are in place. If you’re looking for a locksmith in East London who can help you do exactly that, then we’re here for you – contact AFS Security at 0208 471 9000 to find out how we can take your security to the next level. 

At AFS Security Systems, we specialise in keeping you and your property safe and secure. It is for this reason that we’re so fascinated by the biggest robberies of all time, and of course, how they were foiled.

For the next instalment of our series on the biggest robberies of all time, we will be looking at the Millennium Dome Raid, including the haul the robbers expected to get and how the Metropolitan Police Service successfully foiled the attempt.

The Da Beers Exhibition and the Irresistible Diamond

During the year 2000, Da Beers put on a diamond exhibition which was held in the Millennium Dome, now the O2 Arena.

One of the most famous articles being exhibited was the famous Millennium Star; a flawless 203.04 carat diamond with an estimated value of £200 million, and thought to be one of the most perfect gems in the world. Other articles on display included priceless blue diamonds, and therefore the exhibition was extremely tempting for anyone hoping to steal their fortune.

Operation Magician

The Flying Squad, a division of the Metropolitan Police Service, were tipped off about a major robbery plot, and although it was unclear what the robbers were plotting, some of the individuals involved were known to police.

This inspired the police to form a top secret investigation, which was given the code name “Operation Magician”, in order to find out who the culprits were, where they were targeting and whether the tip-off was genuine. After gathering intelligence from multiple sources, police discovered that the location in question was indeed the Millennium Dome.

In February 2000, a gang of armed men attempted to raid a security van in Nine Elms, London, and get away with £10 million. However, their original escape plan failed and they were forced to make their getaway in an inflatable speed boat.

The gang attempted the raid again in July of the same year, only this time in Aylesford, Kent. Although this attempt got them much closer to the cash, an unexpected intervention by police forced gunmen to shoot at the police car and, yet again, flee in an inflatable speed boat.

These unsuccessful robberies came to the attention of the Metropolitan Police, who were then informed that the men could have been after the Millennium jewels. Three of the suspected robbers were then identified by police, who monitored them under surveillance from 1^st September 2000.

The Raid

Intelligence gathered by Operation Magician had allowed police to be very prepared for what was going to happen. On 7^th November 2000, 200 officers and 60 Flying Squad officers were stationed around the Thames and the Dome, ready to intercept the criminals.

Sure enough, their intelligence was correct. On the morning of the raid, three of the gang members were identified on a JCB wearing body armour and gas masks, which was later explained by their possession of smokebombs, sledgehammers and nail guns, which they intended to use to penetrate the security glass.

The gang used the JCB to break the perimeter fence and enter the Dome, where the gang began throwing smoke bombs and attempting to break the glass to enter what was referred to as “the Money Zone”.

Their plan to weaken and shatter the glass was working, and when the robbers were just inches from accessing the diamonds, they were interrupted by police, who arrested them when they were “just twelve inches from payday”.

Two other men were arrested outside the Dome; one in a speedboat, which police assumed was to be used in the escape, and the other in a van accused of monitoring radio frequencies. Six others were arrested in Kent in connection with the investigation.

Trial

The trial against Lee Wenham, Raymond Betson, William Cockram, Terry Millman, Aldo Ciarrocchi, Robert Adams and Kevin Meredith was brought to court one year later in November 2001.

Raymond Betson and William Cockram, who were considered to be the leaders of the gang, were given 18-year sentences. Aldo Ciarrocchi and Robert Adams were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Lee Wenham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and was sentenced to four years in jail, on top of a nine year sentence after pleading guilty to the Aylesford attempted robbery. Kevin Meredith was cleared of conspiracy to rob, but found guilty of conspiracy to steal, and was sentenced to five years in prison. Terry Millman died of cancer before the trial date.

As well as showing that crime certainly doesn’t pay, the Millennium Dome Raid is also an excellent display of how proper security prevents crime. If you want to secure your property and you are looking for locksmiths in East London, AFS Security Systems can help to put your mind at ease. For more information, contact us today by calling 0208 471 9000.

Easter is fast approaching, and for many families up and down the country, that means it’s time to take a family holiday to enjoy the half term break. This also means that mums and dads all over the UK will be making checklists to make sure they don’t forget to take anything with them. But there’s another checklist you should think about making – the home security checklist.

Let Your Neighbours Know

If you have a neighbour you trust, make sure to let them know that you are going away and what day you’ll be back. This means that, if they hear or see anything suspicious around your home before your return date, they can call the police. It’s also a good idea to ask them to pick up any newspapers or post that may be left on your doorstep.

Don’t Announce It

You may want to let all your friends know that you are jetting off somewhere sunny, but it’s best to avoid posting it on social media. It’s easier than you may think for strangers to see your updates, and for an experienced burglar, finding your address won’t be particularly difficult either.

Set Your Alarms

If you have any security alarms, make sure you set them before you leave. They may be something of a deterrent even when they are not activated, but if you don’t set them, they won’t be able to protect your home.

Set Timers

You can invest in light timers that will switch your lights on and off at certain times of the day to give the illusion that there is someone in the house. Make sure to take advantage of these, as they are a huge deterrent to opportunists.

Check and Double Check All Windows and Doors

Once you’ve done one quick check, it can be tempting to hop in the car and forget about it until your return, but make sure that you do thorough checks of every window and door in your home to ensure that each one is locked and secured.

Here at AFS Security, we are experts at keeping your property safe and sound. We have a wide range of products designed to protect you, so when you are in need of a locksmith in East London, don’t hesitate to contact us by calling 0208 471 9000 to speak to a member of our team.

Robberies, burglaries and heists are frequent throughout history, and perhaps one of the most famous robberies in history was the Great Train Robbery which took place in Buckinghamshire, England on 8^th August 1963. 

The Plan

It was a 15-strong gang that intercepted the overnight Glasgow to London train, and this gang was said to have based their robbery on information from someone only known by the pseudonym Ulsterman until 2014, when his identity was revealed as Patrick McKenna, a General Post Office worker from Salford.

Ulsterman provided the gang with inside knowledge on how the train operated, as well as the amount of money typically carried on Royal Mail trains. The raid was devised over a series of months, and although the gang had no prior experience of carrying out robberies, they had devised their plan by summer 1963.

The Robbery

On the night of 8^th August 1963, ringleader Bruce Reynolds and the rest of the gang intercepted the Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London in Ledburn. The driver had stopped the train at a red signal, which the robbers had tampered with.

The thieves moved the train to Bridego Bridge, where the gang then attacked the High Value Packages (HVP) carriage. Train workers were made to lie face down in the corner of the carriage while the robbers removed 120 sacks from the carriage, running away with approximately £2.6 million, which is the equivalent of around £40 million today. 

The Getaway

The gang drove along minor roads to their hideout, a farm that they had purchased two months prior to the robbery. They arrived at around 4.30am, about 45 minutes after they had left the scene of the crime, and over VHF radio they heard the first reports of the crime being made.

They divided their stolen loot into equal shares, with some extra money left for associates of the gang. Meanwhile, as the gang heard over their radio, the police had narrowed their search to within a 30-mile radius, which was based on a statement given by one of the train workers who was told to not move for half an hour after the robbers left.

Although the gang had planned to destroy the hideout, the man they hired to burn it down failed to do so, and soon the hideout was found by police.

We hope you enjoyed reading about the Great Train Robbery. At AFS Security, we are committed to crime prevention and making all of our clients feel as safe as possible. We offer a range of security services as well as being leading locksmiths in Essex. For more information, contact us today by calling 0208 471 9000.

Throughout history, people have been stealing from one another in varying degrees of severity, from having your lunch money stolen in the playground to the mastermind bank heists that shock the world. While our aim is to prevent you from falling foul of burglars, we’re still fascinated by some of the world’s biggest and most famous robberies of all time! Today, we’ll begin a running series that’ll look at some jaw-dropping heists that shook the world.

In 1986 Italian criminal, Valerio Viccei arrived in London to continue his life of crime. After securing the help of Parvez Latif, the managing director of the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre, he began to formulate his plan.

On 12^th July 1987, two men entered the centre where they requested to rent a safety deposit box. They were then shown into the vault where they took out hand guns and subdued the manager and security guards.

The robbers then placed a ‘closed’ sign in the door and let in more gang members to assist with the heist. The group of thieves proceeded to break open many of the safety deposit boxes, pocketing the contents, which was estimated to be worth around £60 million. This is thought to be a conservative guess, as the owners of the security boxes may have not reported the full extent of the contents.

Although the gang members made it out with their loot, several of them were later tracked down by the authorities and arrested during the next month. Viccei, on the other hand fled to Latin America, where he seemed to be safe from arrest. It wasn’t until he returned to England to retrieve his prized Ferrari that the authorities caught up with him. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, but in April 2000, during a day release, he became involved in a gunfight and was killed by police.

Here at AFS Security, our top priority is to keep you safe from burglars by making sure that your home or office is kitted out with the best security equipment. So, if you want to improve your property’s safety and are looking for a locksmith in East London, get in contact with us today by calling 0208 471 9000 to speak to a member of our team.