Bank's pounds 2 million stashed abroad? SPECIAL REPORT.

Byline: PAUL SUART

THEY were the four ruthless crooks behind a daring Midland pounds 1.8 million heist described as "slick and meticulous".

But the gang were caught and later received six-year jail sentences for raiding a NatWest cash handling centre in Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Yet the fortune in used notes that they stole in the Gone in 60 Seconds burglary in October 2006 has still not been found.

Now the four unlikely masterminds have been hit with three-year extensions to their sentences after failing to pay pounds 256,000 each at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

The unlikely masterminds of the raid were Terrance McGurk and Dean Lindon, both 29, and Kenneth Bourne and Karl Powell, both 26, who were all from the Henley Green estate in Coventry.

They had broken into the compound by ramming a stolen skip lorry through a wall then escaped with the loot in just 75 seconds.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Bladen, who led the original investigation, admitted the failure to find the stolen cash still eats away at him.

"It's certainly still regarded as unfinished business," he said.

"We carried out enquiries at the time, but we were never able to recover any cash.

"Anyone who could assist us we would urge to come forward and would certainly investigate any new leads or information.

"In my 25 years as a detective, this case demonstrated a degree of planning, preparation and execution over a long period of time, the likes of which I have never seen before.

"It was an extremely unusual crime - the audacity of it. It was slick, meticulous and very well planned.

"They were there only a matter of a few minutes and it all went very quickly indeed.

"It was quite a secure building that they targeted. The way they stole the skip vans and rammed them into the wall was really quite brutal. Some of the staff were extremely upset at the time and found it extremely traumatic. The brutality of the attack stood out.

"They would not have been aware there were people stood on the other side of the wall. The sentence they were given was appropriate to the evidence heard in court and bearing in mind they pleaded guilty at the time."

Police believe the stolen money, which was in used pounds 10 and pounds 20 notes, may have been taken out of the UK and hidden aboard, possibly in France or Spain.

The four, who were all found guilty of conspiracy to burgle, were each ordered to pay back a seventh of the sum stolen after seven people were initially arrested, but only four were charged.

CAPTION(S):

JAILED: (left to right) Terence McGurk, 29; Kenneth Bourne, 26; Karl Powell, 26 and Dean Lindon, 29