Bungling plotters pick wrong jail van
AN attempt to spring an inmate from a prison van failed when the plotters targeted the wrong vehicle.
A car driver wearing a balaclava pulled alongside a prison van as it approached Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London.
He shouted to the driver “Are you from Wandsworth (prison)?”
When the guard answered “No”, the would-be attacker responded: “It’s your lucky day. We were going to spring our mate.”
The car then accelerated off. A source said: “This was a very frightening incident.
“The plot seemed to have been well thought through – it was just lucky they chose the wrong prison van.
“An investigation has been launched to find out who was going to be sprung.”
The vehicle was owned by private firm GEOAmey, which provides transport between jails and courts. A driver and co-driver were in the vehicle at the time. The Metropolitan Police are investigating.
A spokesman confirmed: “Police were alerted to an incident in Bow Road, near Thames Magistrates’ Court, in which a car driver shouted a question at the driver of a prison van.
“The car driver enquired as to which prison the van had driven from and, on being given an answer, the car driver made a further comment before driving away.”
In June, a gang of five was jailed for 27 years and two months for plotting to spring an inmate from a prison van near Wood Green Crown Court in north London. During the operation police shot dead a sixth gang member.