MEMBERS of a gang who kidnapped a cash depot manager and his family in order to carry out Britain’s biggest ever robbery will be behind bars for a total of at least 70 years.

A packed court room at the Old Bailey heard judge Penry Davey pass indeterminate sentences on Lea Rusha, Roger Coutts, Jetmir Bucpapa and Stuart Royle, all of whom have been convicted of involvement in the theft of £53 million from the Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge in February 2006.

Stuart Royle, who has not appeared recently in court, was not present to hear his sentence.

The judge said 30 years would have been appropriate if fixed sentences were being passed but in sentencing the men indefinitely he said a minimum of 15 years would be served minus the roughly two years already spent in custody.

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Don't miss the Kent Messenger's 16-page special on the world's biggest cash robbery. It's published on Friday.

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Emir Hysenaj, who the judge said did not play a physical part in the robbery, was given a determinate sentence of 20 years with a minimum of 10.

During the raid depot manager Colin Dixon and his family were kidnapped at gunpoint by men posing as police officers.

Describing the robbers' role in the crime, the judge said: "Once you were inside, all heavily disguised and armed, all those inside were violently threatened and trussed up before being locked into cages and abandoned.

"Confronted by armed hooded men, it is unsurprising that they were terrified and that some of them continue to suffer long-term effects, some of them life-changing, particularly in the case of the Dixon family.

"The gang, including four of you, fled into the night with £53 million. This was organised banditry for uniquely high stakes."

None of the gang reacted to their sentence except Rusha who walked immediately from the dock gesturing at the security guards to follow him with a nod of his head and smiling.

Kent's Chief Constable Mike Fuller commented afterwards: "The sentences passed by the judge today are just and reflect the severity of the crime and the actions of these five men.

"The armed robbers who raided the cash depot in Tonbridge on that night put a family in fear of their lives and struck terror in the hearts of staff working there.

"There are many reasons for Kent Police's success in tracking down those responsible, not least the dedication and determination of all of the force’s officers and staff but also the early help of the Crown Prosecution Service that helped turn intelligence into hard evidence that we have been able to use successfully in this trial.

"Our highest priority remains to ensure that no one profits from the proceeds of this robbery."

~ Special report: Britain's biggest robbery >>>