Longer prison sentences for helicopter robbers
Feb 16, 2011
Today three of the seven felons that were convicted for the spectacular helicopter heist got their sentences strengthened by the Svea Court of Appeal. The pilot was sentenced to eight years in prison instead of Södertörn District Court’s earlier verdict of seven years in prison that was issued on 7 October 2010. One of the robbers that were inside the cash depot was also sentenced to eight years instead of seven, and another man involved in the heist got four years in prison instead of three. The pilot is still claiming his innocence.
The helicopter heist (locally known as “helikopterrånet”) occurred on the early morning of 23 September 2009. A Jet Ranger (SE-HON) was stolen from its hangar at Mellingeholm Airfield in Norrtälje. It was flown to Frescati/Stora Skuggan moments prior to 05:00 and soon continued to the G4S Cash Deposit in Västberga, a few kilometers southwest of downtown Stockholm. The stolen helicopter landed on the roof of the deposit building, inserted three robbers with ladders and weapons, took off to wait for the money to be collected, returned to pick up the gang and the money, and left to the southwest; all in roughly 30 minutes. In the meantime the police set up a perimeter around the robbery in progress, but they were unable to interfere with the helicopter due to the risk of harming innocent bystanders. The Swedish Police Wings’s own regional EC135 helicopters were grounded after two boxes with dummy explosives had been placed outside the entrance doors to the hangar at Myttinge Heliport the same morning.
The stolen helicopter left people and money at two locations in the suburbs – Draget/Norsborg and Kaananbadet/Grimsta – before it continued to Skavlöten/Arninge in the north of Stockholm. It was then left on a field near the forest.
The heist became an instant top story worldwide, with prominent media like CNN, BBC and AP reporting about the robbery. The robbers got away with an estimated 39 million SEK, approx €3,86 million EUR at Sep 2009 exchange rate.
Photos related to this article