£77m bonds found

THREE men were arrested last night after stolen certifi - ca tes of deposit with a face value of £77 million were found by Customs officers during a routine baggage search at Heathrow airport. The 80 certificates were part of a batch worth £292 million taken at knifepoint on May 2 from Mr John Goddard, a messenger for a City of London broker's firm, as he stood on a street corner. Within an hour of the robbery the Bank of England sent a message alerting dealers

and brokers throughout the world and giving details of the documents to render them wor thless. City of London Police said that they were found among baggage on a British Airways flight being transferred from Dublin to London. The three men were travelling from the Irish Republic. Customs said it had been a lucky find: "We did not know the bonds were coming in. We found them by pure chance. We had a bit of luck during a routine search."

By a Staff Reporter