THE £292M ROBBERY YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF

We meet only party ever convicted

- BY JACKIE ANNETT

IT began as an ordinary Wednesday morning in May 1990, when bank courier John Goddard as usual made his way around the City of London, briefcase in hand.

But on this particular day, he was held up at knifepoint and his case, carrying 301 City bonds worth £292million, or £850million in today's money, was stolen in a daylight robbery.

The 58-year-old bank employee was forced to hand over the bearer bonds, fancy IOUs including certificates of deposit and HM Treasury bills.

And despite a huge City of London Police investigation, the trail of the mugger very quickly went cold.

Dubbed "the biggest heist you have never heard of", the robbery is now the subject of a Crime+Investigation documentary series.

Presented by Marcel Theroux, it premieres on Monday and reveals the sophisticated criminal plot behind the heist, which involved the New York mafia, the IRA and Colombian drug barons. But, to this day, no one knows who masterminded the plan.

Low-level drug dealer Patrick Thomas, who allegedly carried out the original theft, was shot dead, apparently because people believed he knew too much.

The only man convicted was Keith Cheeseman, who was jailed for six-and-a-half years for conspiracy to launder the bonds.