Securitas robbery: The rollercoaster ride that ended in jail

How cage fighter Paul Allen went from living the high life in Morocco to sharing a cell with rats
Securitas robber pleads guilty
CCTV footage of Britain's biggest cash robbery at the Securitas depot in Kent in February 2006. Photograph: Kent Police/PA

The sentencing of cage fighter Paul Allen for his part in the Securitas robbery brought an end to his rollercoaster ride since his post-robbery escape to Morocco with close friend Lee Murray, the man police believe was the mastermind.

Murray, who is half Moroccan, remains in jail there and may now face trial for the robbery in that country. He denies the charges.

Murray and Allen, a 31-year-old father of three from Chatham, Kent, grew up together in south-east London. Both were martial arts experts and steroid-users, although it was Murray, nicknamed "Lightning", who had an international reputation as a cage-fighter – even if he preferred the term mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Allen acted as his minder and driver. They trained together, hung out in clubs together and were eventually accused of robbing together.

Allen had previous convictions for the relatively minor offences of possession of an offensive weapon, drink-driving and affray and was not high on the police's radar after such an audacious crime.

The pair were already on the run by the time the first arrests were made in England. They went first to Amsterdam, then drove south through Spain to Morocco. For a while the two friends lived the good life in Rabat, staying in a villa in the expensive part of town, going clubbing at night, taking cocaine and spending heavily in the Megamall – Rabat's flashy shopping centre. But, unwittingly, they were drawing attention to themselves: it was rare for two single men to be sharing a house so locals thought they must be gay.

They were also spreading large sums of money in the casino – a classic money-laundering tactic – where it was possible to buy £100,000 worth of chips and cash them in for different money a few hours later. They had already drawn the attention of the local police, following allegations they had beaten up a Moroccan after an argument.

The day their life on the run came to an end was meant to be a relaxed one, watching England play Portugal in the World Cup football finals on a big screen in the Megamall. Allen had just parked their Mercedes when he noticed a large group of men, many in tracksuits. "Who are those guys?" he asked Murray, thinking they looked like a football team.

Moments later, they had their answer. A transit van drew up and men armed with guns and batons jumped out. The men in tracksuits whipped out their own automatic weapons.

Moroccan police said later that the men resisted arrest, while Allen claims they realised they were outnumbered and swiftly surrendered. He claimed they were punched and "picked off the ground and run through the Megamall like a battering ram".

The Crown Prosecution Service wanted Allen and Murray to return to Britain to face trial but, on his lawyer's advice, Allen decided to fight extradition. Murray, with his Moroccan nationality, was entitled to stay and face the local criminal justice system. Allen was taken to the jail, which housed 4,000 prisoners, where he was held in the "hole".

"It was like a cave, I could only stand in the middle of it," he said later of the cell. "There was water dripping down the wall and no electric light. The food was boiled slop, uneatable … rats came up from the toilet, you would feel them on your leg and it was cockroach-infested. It was my worst nightmare, beyond belief. It was very traumatising." He remained there until the British embassy was able to get him moved.

It was 23 months before he lost his extradition battle and was finally flown to Biggin Hill airport en route to his trial. "I'm just glad to be home," he said after touching down.

Allen pleaded not guilty at his first trial earlier this year and went into the witness box to claim he had been completely unaware of any plot, although the police believed his role was as one of the heavies used to intimidate Securitas staff during the robbery in which the depot manager, Colin Dixon, and his wife and child were held hostage.

He acknowledged he had trained with Murray on a daily basis but said mixed martial arts was "no more violent than any other contact sport". He admitted taking steroids – he lost 14kg (30lb) of mostly muscled bulk in prison – but denied they had any side-effects. "It's a load of rubbish that they make you aggressive." He said he was angry with Murray when he realised the robbery had taken place.

Allen told the court he would never have taken part in a crime in which a woman and child were involved. "I am not a monster," he said.

He admitted he had bought a miniature camera – which was later used by the gang's inside man at the depot – but denied that he knew it was for a criminal purpose. At one stage he had to be told by the judge not to make a speech to the jury, after he had pleaded with them: "I can't take no more. Do I really deserve 25 years or the rest of my life in prison for buying a car or a camera?"

Five other members of the gang are already serving lengthy sentences after being convicted in an earlier trial that ended in February. Lea Rusha, Stuart Royle, Jetmir Bucpapa and Roger Coutts were given indeterminate sentences with a minimum of 15 years. Emir Hysenaj, the inside man who had previously worked at the depot, was jailed for 20 years. The investigation cost £5 million and more than 100 officers were involved.

Of the £53m stolen, only £21m has been recovered.

Murray may now face trial in Morocco.

One other man, believed to be possibly in the West Indies, is still sought. The saga of Britain's biggest ever cash robbery remains unfinished.