1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150 
Theft was no April fool
Page 14
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
II by Jennifer Ball
A thief posing as a driver stole £500,000 worth of computer equipment from Glasgow Prestwick Airport after he conned warehouse staff into releasing the goods.
The robbery was only discovered when the real driver turned up to collect the load for delivery to a local computer manufacturer.
The truck is a J-reg Iveco Ford with a light coloured cab. The conman is about 5ft 9in tall; he spoke with a local accent and was wearing working clothes including a cap, gloves and a fluorescent jacket.
"This was a well organised and executed crime," says DC Jim Kirkland of the Ayrshire police. "Those involved knew exactly what was to be stolen and did so with precision.
"I would appeal to anyone who may have seen the lorry or any similar vehicle in the area of the airport or surrounding roads in the early hours of April the first to contact the police," says DC Kirkland.
Stuart Sinclair, director of freight at Prestwick says that everyone including staff at the airport is a potential suspect.
• Contact Ayrshire CID on 01292164080.
• The government has recently announced plans to improve security at airports following a number of high-profile raids at Heathrow and Gatwick.