Shraman Mitra
The Securitas heist on February 21, 2006, was one of the worst robberies the United States had ever witnessed. While numerous armed men forced their way into the Securitas money depot in Tonbridge, Kent, before making off with 53 million pounds in cash, the police later learned that the depot’s manager, Colin Dixon, and his family were held hostage until the robbers got away safely.
Showtime’s ‘Catching Lightning’ follows the shocking robbery and tracks the investigation that brought the perpetrators to juWell, let’s study the details surrounding the crime and find out where Stuart is at present, shall we?
Who is Stuart Royle?
A resident of Langley, Kent, Stuart Royle earned a living as a used car salesman. However, the show mentioned that he was already well known for using underhand means in his business, and several people had complained of being ripped off by him. Moreover, readers will be interested to know that Stuart ran his business, Wateringbury Car Sales, alongside John Fowler, who was also suspected of being involved in the robbery but was later acquitted.
Incidentally, Stuart Royle was a part of the Securitas heist from the very beginning. He played an integral role in planning the robbery and was responsible for transporting the stolen money from the Securitas depot. On top of it, the police also found evidence that Stuart and John Fowler were asked to dispose of the steel currency containers the men had taken from the depot. On February 21, 2006, Stuart was involved in kidnapping Colin Dixon’s wife, Lynn Dixon, and their daughter in order to coerce the general manager to follow their orders.
Subsequently, Stuart broke into the Securitas money depot with the rest of the gang and helped them steal almost 53 million in cash. The cash was then put into steel cages and loaded onto a truck before being driven away by the perpetrators. Once the police began investigating the incident, they sifted through hours of CCTV footage which showed the robbers loading the money onto the truck.
Eventually, law enforcement officials were able to get the truck’s registration number and learned that it belonged to a company that provides vehicles for hire. As fate would have it, the truck in question was hired under Stuart Royle’s name, and a quick search revealed that he co-owned Wateringbury Car Sales in Langley, Kent. Naturally, it did not take long for investigators to learn about Stuart’s infamous reputation, and they were convinced of his involvement in the heist.
The police’s suspicions were soon confirmed when phone records proved that Stuart had been in touch with other suspects, including Lea Rusha, Lee Murray, Paul Allen, and Roger Coutts. On top of it, detectives also found several thousand pounds of the stolen money, which was easily traced back to Stuart Royle. Hence, with enough evidence on their hands, investigators arrested Stuart and charged him for his role in the heist.
Stuart Royle is Still Behind Bars Today
When presented in court, Stuart pled not guilty and insisted on his innocence. However, he was ultimately convicted of possessing a firearm, as well as conspiracy to rob and kidnap. As a result, the judge sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison in 2008. On top of it, Stuart was ordered to pay back the 2 million pounds he had stolen from the depot. At the time of Stuart’s conviction, the judge considered the time he had already spent behind bars. Consequently, he was eligible for parole by the end of 2011.
However, since Stuart still needed to pay the 2 million pounds, the judge gave him an extra six months to come up with a proper solution. Even at the end of the six-month period, Stuart was unable to pay the money, which forced the judge to increase his minimum sentence by six more years in 2012. Hence, even though Stuart completed serving his minimum sentence in 2018 and is currently eligible for parole, there are no reports on such a development, making us believe that he is still behind bars at a prison in the United Kingdom.
Read More: Where is Lea Rusha Now?
