Murray in Moroccan Jail, arrested for involvement in robbery
Lee Murray, former UFC middleweight, has been sentenced to 10 years in a Morocco prison following his involvement in Britain’s largest bank heist ever, reports the BBC News.
It is believed that in February 2006, Murray has masterminded the £53 million ($77 million) robbery of Kent Securitas depot in Tonbridge, England and after the robbery; he fled to Morocco, where he has a Moroccan citizenship.
With Moroccan authorities, Kent officers began working, when it was established that Murray could not be extradited back to the U.K. to stand trial, as per the article.
Murray went the distance with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at Cage Rage 8 in 2004 and submitted Jorge Rivera with a first-round armbar at UFC 48. In Morocco, he was incarcerated but he was released and re-captured while officials determined where he could be tried.
The 30-year-old Murray is also known for his July 2002 street fight and he survived a 2005 stabbing incident. This street fight involved former UFC champion Tito Ortiz outside a London nightclub following UFC 38.
Murray left authorities key evidence that helped lead to his arrest. Before the robbery, he crashed his car and fled the scene with his cell phone still in the vehicle. A phone conversation about the heist with an accomplice was accidentally recorded by Murray, which was used by prosecutors, as per the BBC News.
From the arrest, Police have recovered £21 million, where 14 Securitas staff was held at gunpoint by the group of robbers.
