A British thief nicknamed Fast Eddie who spent almost 20 years as a fugitive in the US after stealing a security van containing £1.2m has been jailed for five years.
Eddie Maher was wanted by Suffolk Police after the Securicor van he was driving disappeared from outside a Lloyds Bank in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on January 22, 1993.
The 57-year-old, originally from South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, was arrested by US authorities in February last year and held in custody awaiting trial after denying the theft following his deportation.
But he entered a last-minute guilty plea at Southwark Crown Court in London as he was due to stand trial. He was later jailed by a judge.
Maher, who used the false identities of Stephen King and his brother Michael Maher while on the run, intended to fight the allegation on the grounds that he had been forced to commit the crime after racking up "significant debts".
But Suffolk Police and the Crown Prosecution Service built up evidence proving that the former soldier and firefighter had profited to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
During his time on the run, Maher built a new life with his partner, Deborah Brett, and their son Lee, who was three-years-old at the time of the theft.
After his conviction, detectives revealed details of a series of property investments they say he funded from the proceeds of the crime in Suffolk.
Eddie Maher admitted stealing a Securicor van in 1993 This included a house in Colorado bought with $120,000 (£79,300) in cash just six months after the theft.
Later Maher built a ranch on 80 acres in Colorado before moving around various US states.
At the time of his arrest on February 9 last year, he was working as a cable engineer in Missouri.
But his attempts to escape justice unravelled as he was arrested for illegally possessing firearms.
When US authorities contacted their UK counterparts about immigration issues, it became clear he was a wanted man.
Speaking outside court, Detective Inspector David Giles, from Suffolk Police, said: "Maher said he was forced to carry out this crime and that he only got a small amount of money from it.
"He never named the people who he claimed forced him into it and never put forward a credible story.
"We have succeeded in proving that he profited substantially from the theft and was a key player in the planning and execution of it.
"Since his arrest, he has displayed no remorse for what he did - but I get the impression he has spent 20 years looking over his shoulder and hoping the law would not catch up with him."
None of the £1.2m stolen from the van, which filled 30 sacks, has ever been found.
Ms Brett, 47, Maher's sister Margaret Francis, 64, and a 54-year-old man, from Woodford Green, east London, are all on bail after being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft.
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