Cage fighter finally admits his role in world's biggest cash robbery after 17 years

Cage fighter, Lee 'Lightning' Murray, has finally admitted his role in the world's biggest cash robbery after nearly two decades.

The 45-year-old pulled off the staggering £53 million Securitas raid 17 years ago back in 2006, and is currently serving a 25-year sentence in Morocco.

Murray is now speaking up about the record-breaking money heist from behind bars in Salé prison in a new documentary, Catching Lightning. Check out the trailer here:

Murray had long-been dubbed the 'mastermind' behind the notorious money heist mission but he has, for the first time, given his version of events from that fateful day.

The 2006 Securitas depot robbery took place in Tonbridge and was the UK's largest cash heist.

It began with a kidnapping on the evening of 21st February and came to an end in the early hours of the following day, where seven criminals stole almost £53 million from the bank.

The septet also ended up leaving behind another £154 million because they did not have the means to transport it.

Other convictions included Stuart Royle, Lea Rusha, Jetmir Buçpapa and Roger Coutts, who all received 30-year sentences. And accomplices Emir Hysenaj also landed 20 years, Paul Allen got 18 years, and Ian Bowrem received 3 years and 9 months.

Murray got lumped with a quarter of century behind bars and had fled to Morocco with accomplice Allen, where he successfully fought extradition to the UK and was imprisoned there for the robbery instead.

UFC

However, Murray is putting all those allegations to bed after appearing in a new four-part Showtime documentary called Catching Lightning.

Speaking about the specifics of his role in the robbery, the martial artist shot down the claims that he was the driving force behind the gang raid.

Speaking from his Moroccan jail cell, the former cage fighter said: "I didn’t have control over it. I weren’t the one to come up with the idea, I weren’t the one who knew where the depot manager lived.

"I weren’t the one who knew what car he drove. I wasn’t the one who had someone who worked on the inside. You know?"

He insisted: "How can I be the mastermind? It was never my idea.

"This robbery was happening whether I was involved or not. It was going down. My role was no more than anybody else’s."

Murray went on to explain exactly how the gang conned Colin Dixon, the depot manager they'd kidnapped in the heist.

"We flashed him with blue lights like police lights fitted into the grill of the car.

"Once he pulled over, we got out the car, and I went to his window and said to him, ‘Listen, there’s been a problem. I ran your number plate and it’s come back there’s a problem with it. Can you step out the car?'"

UFC

Dixon, under the impression that he was talking to real police officers, did as instructed and was subsequently put into a pair of handcuffs.

Murray continued: "Then we said to him 'Listen, we’re not real police. Just do as you’re told, do as we say'. Obviously, we showed him we had a gun with us."

Looking back on the situation, the convict admitted: "If I could turn back the clock and change what I done, I wouldn’t.

"Back then, I was a wild man. I didn’t think of the future... I think being in prison, you know, I’m learning from my mistakes. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I made a mistake. A big mistake."

While Murray is not due to be released from the Salé prison until 2023, he is still holding onto his dream of achieving UFC glory.

"Fighting’s my life. Fighting is in my blood," he said, "my story isn’t finished. This isn’t the end."

Catching Lightning will be available to stream this Friday on Paramount+.