For six long years, a police investigation remained a tangled web, seemingly leading detectives further away from the truth with each turn. However, a surprising breakthrough came in the form of an iPad, discovered after five years submerged in the murky waters of the River Thames. This unexpected find became a crucial piece of evidence, unraveling a series of crimes, including an attempted murder, and culminating in the arrest of three men.
To grasp the significance of this waterlogged tablet, we journey back to 2006 when Paul Allen was involved in a monumental armed robbery. Alongside seven accomplices, Allen carried out a heist that saw them abscond with approximately $68 million from a Bank of England security depot. This depot housed outdated currency destined for destruction and replacement. Despite their cunning, a lack of adequate transportation limited their haul. Fortunately, justice prevailed, and Allen was apprehended, resulting in an 18-year sentence. However, he was released in 2016 after serving less than half of his term.
Fast forward three years, Allen faced peril once more when a shooting at his home left him paralyzed from the chest down. Meanwhile, a trio of criminals was involved in unrelated felonies, notably a museum heist. Their downfall came when they sought to auction off valuable treasures, including items from the 14th Century Ming Dynasty valued at approximately £2.8 million. Alerted by the auction house, authorities launched an investigation, uncovering DNA evidence linking the trio to Allen’s shooting.
A statement from one of the men revealed the location of a getaway vehicle, which had stopped near the River Thames. It was here that the police discovered the iPad. Despite its dilapidated condition, forensic experts managed to extract key evidence, including a Vodafone SIM card. This SIM card, along with call data, provided incriminating evidence against Louis Ahearne, Stewart Ahearne, and Daniel Kelly. It also emerged that they had used the SIM card to track Allen’s movements prior to the attack.
This unlikely chain of events, beginning with the recovery of a submerged tablet, illuminated the criminal activities of the trio and brought a long-standing investigation to a dramatic close. Were it not for the iPad, these threads might have remained elusive, leaving the case unresolved. Instead, justice was served, and this incredible story of crime and discovery can be further explored through the BBC’s detailed coverage.
