Inside Job Probe for £1m Cigarette Heist

Source from:  Aug 13 2008 by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo  08/15/2008

A £1m CIGARETTE heist at Merseyside docks could have been an "inside job". Further details have now been revealed about the elaborate four-hour lorry hijack which resulted in the massive haul being taken from Birkenhead waterfront. Police said today that knowledge of the dock movements would have been needed to carry out the raid. They are to stage a reconstruction of the robbery, which started in Ellesmere Port and ended in Humberside, where the 46-year-old lorry driver was dumped after being held at knifepoint. Last Thursday, a Ford Galaxy car, falsely liveried as a Vehicle and Operators Services Agency (VOSA) car illuminated its sign to display the words "Follow Me" on the M53. When the lorry driver stopped he was confronted by two men in orange boiler suits who fabricated a story about his electrics not working. They then pulled out a knife and, with two hijackers hiding in the trailer, forced the man to drive to Birkenhead docks. Once there, they dropped off his trailer load of cereal and then picked up a trailer containing the £1m haul of cigarettes. The driver was next instructed to drive to Hapsford services on the M56 near Chester. During the journey, the two men were hidden in the back of the trailer and made specific threats to the driver, which police are not revealing. At the services, two accomplices were waiting and the cigarette trailer was attached to another cab and driven off while the other two accompanied the lorry driver to Killingholme, Humberside, where he was tied up, gagged and dumped in a lay-by. Cheshire police have offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the hijackers. As part of their inquiries, detectives will speak to workers employed at the docks. Investigating officer DS Nigel Parr said: "This was a well-orchestrated plan which has required a certain amount of knowledge of the loads at Birkenhead docks. "This has had major effect on the driver. We are doing everything we can to bring the offenders to justice." A spokesman for Mersey Docks and Harbour Company said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing police inquiry". Anyone with information should contact 01244 613131 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Enditem