Misc data and adventures of a Tayopa treasure hunter

A reporter by the name of Damien Lewis

Spent years researching the story.

He claims the following.

In 2007 Damien came across an ex SAS solder by the name of "Mike" Who claimed he was part of a British Government sanctioned raid on the bank in 1976. However Damien need more evidence just some ones unsubstantiated claims.

He asked a trusted ex-SAS contact if British Special Forces had any prior history of carrying out bank jobs? If they did, it was something I had never heard of."In fact, banks are one of the favorite theoretical targets of the regiment," he told him, "although they like to keep quiet about it…


"If you’re the best in the world, you have to be capable of the impossible – like penetrating high-security set-ups without being caught." Banks provide a distinct target opportunity, he explained, one where security is tight and ease of entry for the uninvited is particularly difficult.


As an exercise, it tests a force’s ability to plan out an assault on a well-defended building, and to get in and out without being compromised.On another level, if hostile regimes or terrorist groups have sensitive documents, banks are one of the commonest places of safety. Many offer blanket client confidentiality, which means that UKSF have to be ready to assault and burgle them whenever ordered to do so, or to rescue hostages hidden in their vaults. But were the SAS present on the ground during Lebanon’s brutal civil war? Officially, they were not.


Damien later got in contact with Ken Connor, a veteran of covert SAS operations, and one or two other ex-SAS contacts, to check. In reality, the SAS had been present during Lebanon’s civil war, but on highly classified missions. They had deployed into Beirut from the UK Armed Forces Base, RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, which has a secret eavesdropping site at Ayios Nikolaos, on the east side of the island. They were tasked with intelligence-gathering work in Beirut, much of which was in preparation for hostage-rescue operations.

Damien arranged a meeting with his original source went back to his original source Mike and met up with him in Dublin, where he was advising the Irish military on security matters. This is what he told him the following story. In January 1976, a nine-man troop of SAS (a standard, 12-man troop, under-strength by three due to injuries) was briefed by its commanding officer at its Cyprus base.


The troop was tasked with a mission to infiltrate Beirut and gain access to the vault of the British Bank of the Middle East, to seize documents of value to Her Majesty’s Government.
Lebanon had become a hub of world terrorism, and those documents detailed financial holdings of terror groups worldwide, including the PLO, PFLP and Islamic Jihad. Significant amounts of bullion and other valuables were stored in the bank vault.


A small amount was to be stolen, the operation commander said, as a token gesture to make it look like a genuine robbery.The SAS troop boarded a submarine anchored off Cyprus, and 24 hours later they were dropped off the Lebanese coast under cover of darkness.


They moved quickly to the no-man’s-land of the Green Line, heading for the city’s financial district, all the while being careful to avoid detection. Upon arrival, they set up a covert observation post (OP) in a deserted building directly opposite the BBME.For two full days they watched the bank, using night-vision scopes in hours of darkness (the predecessor to today’s lightweight night-vision goggles). One of the team even opened an account with BBME to obtain detailed information about the interior. They also used pistol-grip microphones to eavesdrop on the bank’s security staff.

Once they had built up a full picture of the bank’s operations, the SAS commander, a young and maverick warrant officer, drew up his assault plan.His men would use Soltam 60mm mortars to hit the front lines in the war, and each side would presume that the mortar attack had come from the other – so provoking a massive firefight.

Under cover of that battle, the SAS force would blast their way into the lobby of the bank, having taken out the bank’s generator to disable the security systems.Beirut was largely bereft of electricity at the time, so once the generator was hit the bank would go dark. With the bank under their control they would prepare to blow the vault.

The SAS – plus their sister unit, the Special Boat Service (SBS) – are experts at the explosive method of entry (EMOE).They are trained to use shaped charges of plastic explosives to blow access holes into enemy buildings, bunkers, ships and aircraft.

EMOE techniques are easily transferable to the business of blowing bank vaults.An amount of plastic explosives was rammed into a funnel charge, and jammed in place against the wall of the corridor approaching the vault.

In theory, the funnel charge would channel the force of the blast into the wall, so blowing a hole through it.Four hours into the raid and the charge was detonated. It worked perfectly. It was then that there was a deviation from orders. Instead of just taking documents, the soldiers emptied the vault of the bulk of its contents.

The majority of the money stolen consisted of gold bullion – hundreds of 12.5kg London Good Delivery Bars. This is the standard weight used by banking institutions around the world. Each bar is 99.99 per cent pure gold, and stamped with a unique serial number.

The loot was loaded into vans and driven across the Green Line, where it was transferred to a waiting landing craft. From there the unit made its way back to Cyprus.Damien was left stunned by Mike’s story. Mike, who claimed that there had been a failure in the A41 radio set and a breakdown in communications. Orders had become confused and that led to the bank being emptied.

The team delivered the terrorist documents and a large portion of the gold. However, they kept an amount hidden for themselves, although Mike says this was in the "couple of million dollars range", much less than that delivered to the Government. In 1976, an SAS soldier’s wage was only £13,000 a year, so the sum they kept was still a fortune.

At first there was consternation at SAS headquarters when it became known that the SAS had taken the BBME for all it was worth. But in time the freelance robbery was seen as a consequence of a difficult, covert, yet ultimately successful operation.In the chaos of Beirut, the money would have been taken by opportunist thieves anyway. No significant disciplinary action was taken against the men.

Once Mike had finished telling me all this Damien asked him why he had done so to tell this story to him after all these years.He answered with a question: if I had pulled off the perfect bank job, would I not want the world to know about it? Damien learned Mike had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. It had been 31 years ago at the time yet they was still legally bound by the official secrets act.

In the following months, Mike offered to introduce Damien to two of his colleagues from the raid. In due course Damien met them. Jock was a towering hulk of a Scot, with a rugby player’s nose and a pronounced limp. The third man, Jamie, was tall and spare, with aquiline features: I guessed he must have been the commander of the unit.

They were both less voluble than Mike had been. He had persuaded them to speak with me, and they were markedly less enthusiastic than him. However, their accounts echoed his with only minor variations. Damien had spent two years investigating whether the SAS pulled off the world’s biggest bank job.

In the end he could not cannot definitely say that they did it. But he was to discover that this was not the first nor the last bank job conducted by the SAS. The SAS had the motive, the means and the track record to have made history by carrying out that 1976 Beirut bank robbery.

When contacted by Damien, the Ministry Of Defence declined to comment on the heist using the official secrets act , but the Lebanon job would fit with the credo of the SAS and its motto ‘Who dares wins’.

So Bill perhaps that a state actor was indeed behind the raid.

Regardless other than the 3 no one else is talking.

Crow
 

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BillA said:
and there are some recent examples:
the gold (reserves) of the Ukraine in a Gulfstream
the gold (reserves) of Libya

might makes right, and no one says a word

and another most clever, the theft with a pen
the Bank of England taking Venezuela's gold

and no one says a word
Click to expand...

Hello Bill

Oh but they do but still take their cut.

Everyone has their finger in the pie. Banks may virtue signal but in truth they all take a cut as the following clip below explains.

Crow

 

Lets just say hypothetically of course ya make a big discovery of treasure. And of course in the countries not friendly to treasure hunters? In which the state would take everything under the pretext of cultural patrimony. Which would be about 99% of them.:laughing7:

And you managed make a clandestine sale of such items?

One would have to legitimize such wealth to keep the hands of government off ya fortune?

Here is how the rich move money away from governments want to get their hands on it?

Crow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEvAk5LRko
















 

well Crow, I have to say in all candor that I have never aspired to be any part of a group doing anything big and illicit, the 2 are a bad combination
kinda ok with either, but never together

cannot imagine why those 2 other SAS guys agreed to be interviewed
 

Gidday Bill

Good question. I sort of know in part my old boy was in the special forces in 1950's. When I and my brothers came of age to follow the old boy into the army he vehemently apposed. Asking why he yes it is good for self discipline but you can learn that outside the army if you want to. And secondly the military under the flag of honor waves loyalty but in truth ruthlessly chews you up as a commodity and tosses you on the trash heap when they have no use for you.

And that does not discriminate between which flag you march under amigo. All countries are the same you are expendable.

So years later these veterans sometimes traumatized in some of things they did on behalf of the state become disenchanted.... There are millions of service men and women around the world after lifetime of service left to fend for themselves and many ending up destitute and homeless. Many cannot cope moving from a programed world of the military to a civilian life.

So for me I can understand the other two men's reluctance as they feared violating the secrecy act. But also the realization that had become that used up commodity. These men are probably are on some crappy pension from the government that now sees them as liability. So I could envisage some miffed rebellion.

My guess the part where some went missing was more bravado than truth as most if not all went directly into the hands of British government.

A crime that they we never be officially recognized for.

Crow
 

BillA said:
love that low profile, lol
win a mint
Click to expand...

Gidday Bill ya be pleased to know I am a VERY conservative gambler. I am a risk taker yet I like to think I am a calculated risk taker although some times I get my sums wrong.:tongue3:

Casinos are very interesting places amigo. It is where you can see all of humanity and how emotions work.Dreams found shattered with fortunes won and lost. All of those tortured souls can tell a story. It helps give an insight into how the world works.

People are their own worst enemies as their decisions are based on emotions that ultimately bring them undone. When people seek treasure they ultimately have a simplistic view that all their troubles will magically disappear? How many stories do you hear of people winning Lotto fortunes and squandering them and being broke with in a few years?

There are ways a means of generating wealth without doing much effort at all and totally legal.

The problem is 99% of the population have not got the monetary discipline and Knowledge of the taxation system to do so.

crow
 

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There are many stories out there amigo of fortunes won and lost.

Empire come and go tyrants despots disposed and cronies flee with assets. Even today as I type assets and treasure are being stolen and looted all around the globe. So the cycle of buried treasure in effect evolves and such that new treasure legends are evolving and will continue to do so after we are all long dead.

It is an endless cycle.

Even in socializing with people in Casino ya can meet the most amazing for characters.

Now Bill you mention flying under the radar. I have met an elderly gent who likes a beer and cigarette well up in his 80's slowly going blind has a stoop and a shuffle looking very frail. But up in the casino everyday having a beer and playing the poker Machines.

To everyone amigos he just an old punter....

But to me he is some thing else.......

I know who he is......

Grab a brew and sit around the campfire amigos I have a yarn for ya.

Crow
 

thanks Crow for the insights and yarns of the past days...do continue the new yarn with the mysterious old man 8-)...

TT
 

Always take the time to talk to people because ya never know what you can uncover Amigos.

This some what frail old man many people would pass in the street would never know who he was and what he had done.

There is nothing in this old demur that would betray his identity.

Crow
 

This elderly gent was a scallywag in his time. No bones about it but in fact If you get to know him he is one of most humble person you could meet. Ironic if I was like so inclined could sell him out for 500 grand reward to the insurance company.

But to hell with them amigos. Besides he has already paid a high price. Why not just leave the old boy finish off his life in peace?

Crow
 

Ya know once knowing the old feller you cannot help but have some admiration for him.

Even the police who gave up investigating him for years after the crime they believed he was responsible for. You see the was one of best safe crackers in his time. Earlier in his life he was busted twice and did jail but that was apprenticeship for him for his modus oprindi.

The second time he gut busted was breaking in a chubb safe company to steal the plans of a safe. However one of incompetent partner at the time took a photograph of him in building without him knowing and he got canned for it. That was in 1970. After that he always worked alone.

There was large robberies of banks later via decade of the 1970's all of them unsolved but the same hall marks... By the 1980's these crimes stopped and which police suspected never had a scarp of proof he was involved. But his greatest escapade was yet to come amigos?

Brew?

Crow
 

BillA said:
as I recall, several of the great train robbers surfaced in Brazil
homesick, kinda funny
Click to expand...

That was Ronny Biggs he in the end was broke and he was sick and dying he returned to the UK for heath care for the price of a prison infirmary.

Crow
 

The old guy I am referring to is in Australia. He is known by police as the fabled Mr X the one who got away. Legally by law they cannot publish his name as no charges have been laid. Although he was strongly suspected of one last crime you could say his swan song they have no proof what so ever he committed the Crime in question?

The crime? Sit back amigos and let me take you back to 1995.

Kerry Packer was a man not to be messed with. He was very powerful with politicians courting him as he controlled the media effectively a king maker. However although a smart business man he had an arrogant side. He had an ongoing war with the tax department. He had sold a gold mine in Western Australia. And the taxation department wanted to tax him but he found a loop hole he was paid in gold and at the time was not constituted as money and could not be taxed on it.

I remember advent well we was working in New Guinea on break in the Madang Social club. There was al round cheers of people when they heard on TV that this pompous billionaire got his gold knocked off especially after bragging on TV that he does not pay tax. At the time we getting hit 48 cents tax in the dollar. Drunk at the time we toasted the mystery criminal for the balls of it all. But never in my life did I ever think I would meet him in person 23 years later?

One weekend late in April Billionaire media baron's Sydney office , evading sophisticated electronic security devices and making off with $5.3 million in bullion, little has been heard of the progress of investigations.


Kerry Packer's office on the third floor of the Consolidated Press headquarters in Sydney is large and L-shaped. Its windows face east onto the leafy panorama of Hyde Park, across Elizabeth St. The main entrance to the inner sanctum is through the office of Packer's executive assistant, Carol Coulter. There is also a back entrance opening onto a corridor, down which are lined several offices, including those of right-hand man Brian Powers and Packer's son, James.


This is the most heavily secured area in the entire building. Every night and weekend, alarms and other security devices are activated to seal it from intrusion. The alarms are remotely monitored and guards constantly roam the building.


On the morning of Monday, May 1, the first executive to enter the executive suite was Consolidated press corporate lawyer David Barnett.He walked past the outer door to Coulter's office and noticed some metal fragments on the carpet, but assumed they had been left there by workmen who were frequently in the building doing renovations.



About 30 minutes later, the company secretary, Bob Davis, passed and noticed gouge marks around the door leading into Coulter's office. He alerted security, who came and opened the door, triggering the alarm.


Nothing amiss was noted in Coulter's office, so it was relocked and the security guard reported the event to his superior.

The chief of security decided he should look for himself and, with Davis, entered Coulter's office. This time they also noticed gouge marks around the door leading to Packer's office. That door was opened, and again an alarm sounded. About this time, Consolidated press finance director Graham Cubbin arrived to ask what was happening?

The group looked around Packer's office, and found nothing unusual until Cubbin noticed some marks on the carpet in front of his boss's desk. They were scorch marks, made, it now seems, by the oxyacetylene torch which cut open the safe.
None of those present knew about the safe or the gold it contained, however, and it was not until Coulter arrived soon after that the heist was discovered.


She quickly sized up the scene and went straight to the set of cupboards which lined the wall opposite Packer's desk. She opened one of the doors, exposing the heavy, old safe with the hole cut by the oxyacetylene torch. The shelves were empty and the gold gone.


Well the 5.3 million today is worth about 16 million.

Its late amigo and its late old Crow needs to roost I will continue tomorrow some time.

So sit tight have another brew.

Crow
 

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