On the grand pyramid of cool heists, the midair heist is pretty much right at the top, behind only "underwater," "shrink ray," and "space." But when some London thieves learned that a British Airways flight would be transporting millions in cash, they launched a plan so daring that the prosecutor even had to beg the jury not to "become distracted with admiration" for the "bold and daring ... James Bond adventure ."
City of London Police
“I would like to remind the court that being rad as Bleep is not established grounds for leniency.”
It all started when inside men allowed gang member Rawson Watson (yes, that's his name) to sneak into the cargo hold of the Boeing 767 at London's Heathrow Airport. Watson then cut a hole in the lining of the hold, climbed inside, and taped it shut behind him. He hid there while the plane flew to Madrid, where it was loaded with 1.5 million pounds' worth of Spanish pesetas for transport back to London. Once the plane had taken off again, Watson emerged from hiding.

A Dramatic Midair Heist Failed Because Airport Workers Didn't Handle Luggage With Care

Here's where it gets clever: Watson assembled two flat-pack crates he had been keeping in the lining with him, then hid the money (and himself) inside them. The plan was for baggage handlers to unload the crates, which would be delivered to Watson's accomplices. They would be long gone by the time the real money container reached its destination and was revealed to be empty, leaving its intended recipient to let out a Vaderian "Noooo!"
But, as always, something went wrong: Some clumsy baggage handlers at Heathrow dropped Watson's crate, which promptly broke apart, revealing Watson ... and millions of pesetas. The thief scrambled to his feet and ran for it, although he found time to politely assure the startled handlers, "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright." In the carefree days before 9/11, he was able to make it out of the airport. He was only caught three years later, when the police arrested him for drunk driving and found that his DNA was a match for some blood left in the ruins of his crate. There's a lesson here, kids: Don't drink and drive.

Wow, but this story has a source. Where is it?