Security driver pleads guilty to stealing almost £1m from G4S van... with £910k still missing

The court heard the driver was seen parking the G4S branded armoured van in Larkhall Rise, Clapham
Ben Morgan25 April 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A security driver today pleaded guilty to stealing almost £1million from his armoured G4S van as cops were today scrambling to find find the remaining cash.

Joel March, 36, appeared at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court today to plead guilty to the theft of £970,000 in notes destined for shops and cash machines on Tuesday.

Police have recovered around £60,000 from March - but more than £910,000 is still to be found as flying squad detectives probe whether others were involved.

The court heard March was seen parking the G4S branded armoured van in Larkhall Rise, Clapham, at just before 9am.

He returned to the van several times over the next hour before disappearing at 9.40am.

The van was parked on double yellow lines, facing the wrong way in the leafy one-way street for eight hours before G4S and police were alerted by residents.

March was later followed to an address in Brixton where police found the £60,000 as well as new clothes and shoes and was arrested.

Prosecutor Amanda McCabe said: "G4S did not record the van [abandoned] until eight hours later.

"He left behind his body armour, phone and other items in the van.

"He was eventually followed to an address in Brixton and arrested. Police seized £60,000 and some amount of clothing and footwear at the address. The rest remains outstanding.

"He gave an account complaining about G4S and his mental health.

"There are potentially others involved in this case. We believe enquiries are on going."

Bruce Reid, defending, said March would not be applying for bail ahead of sentencing at the Inner London Crown Court next month.

Magistrate Karim Ezzat added: "It is right that you will be sentence at Crown Court in three weeks time."

March, of Rectory Grove, Clapham, admitted one count of theft by an employee.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in