The Gold: Where are the real Brink’s-Mat robbers now?

Viewers can’t get enough of The Gold season two – BBC’s hit crime drama charting the real-life events of the infamous Brink’s-Mat robbery of 1983. 

It was an operation that went down as one of Britain’s biggest-ever heists, and the BBC adaptation has left viewers wondering: what actually happened to the real-life gangsters behind the Brink’s-Mat robbery?

Keep reading to find out what happened and where they are now…

Micky “The Nutter” McAvoy

Believed to be a ringleader of the gang, 30-year-old Micky was well known at the time as a prolific armed robber. After the heist, Mickey was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1984. 

Despite trying to cut a deal with prosecutors, the blame was eventually laid on Mickey’s shoulders, and he was ordered to pay the court back more £27 million – which he never managed to do.

After being released on parole in 2000, Mickey moved to Spain where he lived for 23 more years until he died from cancer, aged 71, in January 2023.

Kenneth Noye

Believed to play a central role in laundering the stolen gold, Kenneth was put on surveillance by the authorities. 

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During this time, he stabbed DC John Fordham, an officer surveilling him, to death. Despite being acquitted for the murder – the jury ruled he was acting in self-defence – he was convicted of conspiracy to handle the stolen gold in 1986 and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

After serving seven years and being released in 1994, it wouldn’t be long until Kenneth had another brush with the law. Only two years after being released, Kenneth killed a man in a road rage accident. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2000, but was released in 2019.

Brian “The Colonel” Robinson

Named a month after the robbery, Brian was arrested in December 1983. He was outed by Stephen Black – the “inside man” security guard who let the robbers inside the warehouse and who was also Brian’s brother-in-law. 

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Brian was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison. After serving 16 years, Brian was released in 2000 and died in a care home in 2021, reportedly penniless and estranged from his criminal life.

Stephen Black

Kenneth’s brother-in-law Stephen, the security guard who let the robbers into the Brink’s-Mat warehouse, admitted to aiding and abetting the heist. He was sentenced to six years in prison. 

John “Goldfinger” Palmer

A well-known gangster and swindler, John was arrested for his involvement in the heist – he’s believed to have made a fortune on the stolen gold. However, John managed to argue his way out of it in court (he said he didn’t realise the gold was linked to Brink’s-Mat), and all charges against him were dropped. 

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Since then, John was arrested twice – in 2001 and 2007 – for fraud, spending a total of about six years in prison. He was later shot dead at his home in Essex in June 2015, where he was still fighting charges.

Brian Perry

Brian was convicted of disposing of the stolen gold bullion and was given nine years in prison for handling stolen goods in 1992.

Like John Palmer,  Brian was shot dead outside his Bermondsey office in 2001.

George Francis

Another suspect in the handling of the gold, George was shot dead outside his courier business in Bermondsey in 2003.

John O’Flynn, a former associate of the Kray twins, was the man behind the assassination, and was also suspected to be involved in the laundering of Brink’s-Mat gold.

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The Gold is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.