Three men have been found guilty of plotting to murder Paul Allen, a former cage fighter and one of the key figures behind the UK’s largest cash robbery—the infamous £53 million Securitas depot heist in 2006. The convicted men, brothers Louis Ahearne (36) and Stewart Ahearne (46), along with Daniel Kelly (46), were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court for their involvement in the attempted homicide that left Allen paralyzed.
The attack, which occurred in July 2019, was precisely planned and carried out at Allen’s home in Woodford Green, East London. The men shot Allen in what prosecutors described as a “carefully coordinated and deliberate hit,” motivated by revenge and financial disputes rooted in the fallout from the historic heist.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the trio conducted extensive surveillance on Allen in the weeks leading up to the shooting. This included attaching a GPS tracking device to his car, using burner phones to avoid detection, and renting multiple vehicles to tail their target without raising suspicion. The attackers approached Allen’s home and opened fire at close range, striking him in the back and leaving him with life-changing injuries. Allen survived but has been left incapacitated.
Police investigators employed a blend of forensic analysis and digital tracking to unravel the conspiracy. DNA found on objects at the crime scene, along with CCTV footage and mobile phone data, firmly connected the three men to the attempted murder. A key piece of incriminating evidence was the discovery of burner phones, which were found to be the same ones used in planning and carrying out the attack, with messages revealing clear prearrangement and secrets.
In a twist that further underlines the criminal expertise of the group, the court also heard that the trio had previously carried out a high-profile burglary in Switzerland. In that operation, they stole Ming dynasty antiques valued at over £2.7 million from a museum. The men were eventually tracked to Switzerland and extradited back to the UK to face trial for both the burglary and the attempted of murder.
Paul Allen, once a close associate of fellow cage fighter and convicted armed robber Lee Murray, was a central figure in the 2006 Securitas depot robbery in Tonbridge, Kent. That heist remains the largest cash robbery in British history. It involved the kidnapping of the depot manager and his family, and the holding of 14 staff members at gunpoint while the gang looted the facility of £53 million in cash. Allen fled to Morocco after the robbery with Murray but was extradited back to the UK. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to kidnap, and conspiracy to possess firearms, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
After his release, Allen appeared to be trying to stay out of the public eye, living in a luxury home in East London. However, his past eventually caught up with him.
The sentencing of the Ahearne brothers and Kelly is scheduled for April 25. Given the severity of the charges and the extensive planning involved in the crime, lengthy prison sentences are expected which may give them some huge sentences in UK history.
Detectives have described the case as one of the most complex and deeply interconnected investigations in recent years, involving decades-old criminal ties, international theft, and attempted murder. Speaking after the verdict, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said, “This was a ruthless and intentionally attack on a man with a notorious past, but it was still a brazen act of violence that endangered lives and caused untold trauma.”
The verdict brings a chilling close to yet another violent chapter in the ongoing saga of the individuals involved in the Securitas heist, a crime that continues to cast long shadows nearly two decades later.
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