Three gangsters guilty of botched bid to murder mastermind behind Britain's biggest robbery

24 March 2025, 17:54 | Updated: 24 March 2025, 19:06

Three men have been found guilty of plotting to kill a man who was convicted over Britain's biggest armed robbery - where £54million in cash was stolen.

Paul Allen, then 41, was left paralysed after shots were fired at his home in Woodford Green, north-east London in 2019.

A jury at the Old Bailey was told the intention was to kill him, and the attackers "very nearly succeeded".

On Monday, Louis Ahearne, 36, his brother Stewart Ahearne, 46, and Daniel Kelly, 46, were found guilty of plotting to murder Allen with others unknown.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the background to the shooting was that Allen was a "sophisticated" career criminal.

He was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in 2009 for his part in Britain's biggest armed robbery, at Securitas in Kent, in which £54 million in cash was stolen, much of which has never been recovered, the court heard.

By 2019, Allen had been released from prison and moved from south London to a large detached property in Woodford, north-east London, where he lived with his partner and young children.

The court heard how the defendants had planned the shooting carefully, carried out surveillance and fitted a tracker device to the victim's car to track his movements.

On the night of 11 July 2019, the three travelled from their homes in southeast London to Woodford Green using a car hired two days earlier by Stewart Ahearne.

While he waited in the car, Kelly and Louis Ahearne snuck into a garden of a house on the street which overlooked the back garden of their target’s house in Malvern Drive.

Just after 11pm, six shots were fired through the back doors and windows of the house - at least one of which struck their target, a man aged 45 at the time, who was standing in the kitchen.

The pair then fled back to the waiting car which drove away, leaving their victim fighting for his life.

CCTV footage shows Daniel Kelly and Louis Ahearne prior to shooting

The defendants travelled from their neighbourhood in the Woolwich area of south-east London, through the Blackwall Tunnel, to the victim's new home in Malvern Drive in a car hired two days earlier by Stewart Ahearne.

While Stewart Ahearne waited in the car, Kelly and Louis Ahearne snuck into a garden overlooking Mr Allen's back garden.

At around 11.09pm, six shots were fired through the back doors and windows, striking Mr Allen in the neck as he stood in the kitchen.

The men fled back to the waiting car, which drove away, leaving their victim fighting for his life.

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During the police investigation, DNA was recovered from the garden fence and matched Kelly and Louis Ahearne.

Bullet casings in the garden were matched to a Glock handgun that was compatible with a laser sight recovered from Kelly's address.

Further CCTV evidence picked up the hire car driven by Stewart Ahearne.

The court also heard that the three men snatched Ming dynasty antiques worth more than 3.5 million US dollars (£2.78 million) from a Swiss museum shortly before the murder plot.

Jurors heard agreed facts about the defendants' "previous criminality" relating to a burglary at the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva on June 1 2019, a month before Allen was shot.

Three pieces of Ming-era porcelain were taken from the museum, which had a combined insurance value of 3,580,000 US dollars (£2,760,000).

The items were an early 15th century bottle with a secret pomegranate decoration; a small wine cup known as the "chicken cup"; and a 14th century An Huan phoenix design bowl.

The defendants flew to Hong Kong on June 14 2019, where they attempted to sell the phoenix bowl at an auction house.

On October 16 2020, Stewart Ahearne was arrested with another man at a London hotel as they tried to sell the Ming vase to an undercover police officer.

A later search of a property revealed a passport in the name of Stewart Ahearne and a book on Ming dynasty antiques, the court was told.

The brothers were extradited from Switzerland to face trial over the shooting.

Louis Ahearne buying drinks at petrol station en route to the shooting

Jurors were also told how two of the defendants were also involved in another burglary in Sevenoaks in Kent, the day before Allen was shot.

The Renault Captur hired by Stewart Ahearne from a dealership in Dartford, Kent, was used by the other two defendants in a burglary on a gated community in the county, the court was told.

Louis Ahearne, from Greenwich, south-east London, and Stewart Ahearne and Kelly, both of no fixed address, had denied the charge against them.

They were remanded into custody to be sentenced by Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC at the Old Bailey on April 25.

'Horrific criminality'

Detective Superintendent Matt Webb who led the investigation said: “The court heard how the defendants, hardened organised criminals, acted together in a well-planned and orchestrated manner to shoot their victim.

"It is only for the intervention of police first responder and medical professionals that the victim wasn’t killed.

"This attack may look like the plot to a Hollywood blockbuster but the reality is something quite different.

"This was horrific criminality.

"The court heard how this was a clear and defined attempt to take a man’s life with those responsible making significant efforts to ensure this was successful.

“This conviction follows a number of years of investigation, I would like to thank our criminal justice partners and the investigation team for their diligence and tenacity in the attempt to bring those responsible to justice.

"The message here to those engaging in serious and organised crime is one I want to make very clear – the Metropolitan Police will not tolerate serious violence and the use of firearms in our communities; we will leave no stone unturned in bringing you to justice.

“Daniel Kelly, Louis and Stewart Ahearne will now undoubtedly face significant custodial sentences and I hope this time at His Majesty’s pleasure provides them the opportunity to reflect on their criminality and the impact it has on society.”