Brinks-Mate Outlaw Mick ‘The Nutter’ McAvoy Dies at 71

Brinks-Mate Outlaw Mickey McAvoy has died at the age of 71, just months after his wife passed away from cancer.

McAvoy, known as ‘The Nutter’, was part of a criminal gang that made off with £26 million worth of gold bars, diamonds and cash in the ‘crime of the century’ after raiding a warehouse at Heathrow Airport in 1983. was stolen

The career criminal, known as one of the country’s most prolific and violent armed robbers, played a major role in one of the largest bullion robberies in British history.

McAvoy had been suffering from cancer and died on New Year’s Eve at his Bromley flat in South East London, where he lived alone. Sun Report.

Mickey McAvoy, known as ‘The Nutter’, was part of the criminal gang that made off with £26 million worth of gold bars, diamonds and cash in the ‘crime of the century’ after raiding a warehouse at Heathrow Airport in 1983. was stolen

Police had long suspected that McAvoy was still active in criminal circles during his time in prison, with an informant suggesting that he was involved in a drug-trafficking plot.

In his final days, McAvoy was said to be struggling financially after devoting himself to caring for his ailing wife, Cathy, who had died of cancer just six months earlier.

The pair married in prison in 1987, three years after McAvoy was sentenced to 25 years for his role in the Brinks-Matte robbery.

At the time of his most lucrative crime, McAvoy was just 30 years old, and the youngest of a gang of six robbers who masterminded the November 26, 1983 Brink-Matte robbery.

McAvoy used his painting and decorator career as a front, but was known to Scotland Yard and was even part of their 20-strong database on London’s most prolific armed robbers.

Just three years before the Heathrow heist, McAvoy was involved in another major robbery in London after ramming a crane into a Brinks-Matt van and making off with over £811,000 in cash.

He, along with his criminal accomplices, was suspected of other high-profile crimes in the capital during his heyday.

McAvoy used his painting and decorator career as a front, but was known to Scotland Yard and was even part of their 20-strong database on London’s most prolific armed robbers.

Former Scotland Yard chief Roy Ram told The Sun: ‘McAvoy was one of the most violent and prolific robbers of his generation.

‘He was feared among his peers and was Scotland Yard’s top target for years.

‘When he was finally imprisoned for Brinks-Mat he felt a job well done and a sense of relief.’

Tributes poured in for the career criminal on social media, including a heartfelt post by Tyson Fury’s uncle, who posted on Instagram: ‘My true friend left his fight last night to be with his lovely wife Cathy .

‘Your [sic] Together now, love you both beyond life, until we walk together again. Mickey McAvoy RIP.’

During the Brinks-Matt robbery, Brian ‘The Colonel’ Robinson joined his brother-in-law Anthony Black and associate Michael McAvoy and three other men when they raided the warehouse at Heathrow Airport.

The gang made international headlines after stealing 6,800 gold bars, diamonds and cash that would be worth more than £100 million today.

The property belonged to security company Brinks Matt and the robbers were there because they knew £3 million in cash was kept inside the vault.

Security guard Anthony Black had warned them beforehand about the cash and had opened the warehouse door to let the criminals in.

The gang tied up the guards and doused them with petrol, threatening to set them on fire if they did not comply.

Over the years, an extraordinary number of McAvoy’s criminal associates have been murdered or disappeared, with less than half the Brinks-Matte gold ever recovered.

It is estimated that more than 20 people with some sort of connection to the robbery have been killed, as Britain’s criminal underworld turned on itself in a desperate attempt to find the gold – most of which was never found Picture: at Heathrow airport crime scene 1983

It is estimated that more than 20 people with some sort of connection to the robbery have died, as Britain’s criminal underworld fell upon itself in a desperate attempt to find the gold – most of which was never found.

McAvoy’s share of the £26 million robbery was later stolen when he was tipped off, with police suspecting that he had ordered the contract killing of the man assigned to guard his loot.

His death comes as a six-part BBC drama on the Brinks-Matt robbery is due to air later this year.

Gold will follow a chain of events spanning decades, described as the ‘crime of the century’ and broadcast across six episodes worldwide on BBC One and Paramount+.

The Brinks mat heist: How the robbers committed the ‘crime of the century’

Shortly after 6.40 am on 26 November 1983, six armed men in Balaclava – including one wearing a trilby – broke into a warehouse at Heathrow Airport.

The property belonged to the security company Brinks Matt and the robbers were there because they knew the vault contained £3 million in cash. They knew because their inside man, security guard Anthony Black, had told them. He also opened the door of the warehouse to let them in.

Led by Black’s brother-in-law, Brian Robinson, and the trilby-clad Michael ‘Mickey’ McAvoy, the gang tied up the guards and doused them with petrol, threatening to burn them down if they did not comply.

Thanks to Black, they were able to identify the two most senior guards, among whom were the vault keys and the combination numbers where the three safes were located.

Inside was over three tons of gold bullion. More than 70 cardboard boxes contained around 7,000 gold bars. Somebody had to take the van.

Weighed down by hoards of gold, the van made its way out of Heathrow when one of the robbers wished the security guards a Merry Christmas.

It did not take police long to link Black to the raid, and he soon implicated Robinson and McAvoy (who punched Black in order to identify him in a police line-up).

Just after 6.40 a.m. on 26 November 1983, six armed men in Balaclava – including one wearing a trilby – broke into a warehouse at Heathrow Airport

The pair had not exactly calmed down after the robbery, spending the cash on property in Kent. It was rumored that McAvoy had bought two Rottweilers to guard his new home and named them Brinks and Matt.

Both were later sentenced to 25 years in prison. Black was sentenced to six years. Stealing gold was relatively easy. The big challenge was selling it.

The robbers turned to crime boss Kenneth Noe, who handled the gold with another criminal, Brian Reeder. It was regularly taken to a smelting company near Bristol where it was mixed with copper and brass to make it look like scrap gold.

About £13 million in value were disposed of in this way. The movement of cash through a local bank soon aroused the suspicion of the Bank of England and surveillance of known baddies began.

Noe appeared in court in 1986 after police found 11 gold bars worth £100,000 at his premises. He was found guilty of handling Brinks matte gold and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

He is currently serving time in prison for the 1996 roadrage murder of 21-year-old Stephen Cameron on the M25 in Kent.

Only two of the gang that entered the warehouse were ever convicted of the crime, but it had major consequences.

It is estimated that more than 20 people with some sort of connection to the robbery have been killed, as Britain’s criminal underworld turned on itself.

Meanwhile, Reeder, Noye’s former right-hand man, was the mastermind behind the £14 million Hatton Gardens jewelery raid. He was sentenced last month to six years and three months in prison.