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Mr Biggs returned to
Brazil after the incident |
1981: Biggs rescued after
kidnapping |
England have
Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs has been rescued by Barbados police
following his kidnapping.
The 52-year-old, on the run from UK police, was found on a yacht which
had broken down seven miles from the coast of Barbados.
The crew of the yacht, believed to be all British, were taken for
questioning.
Reports suggest Mr Biggs was taken from a bar in Rio de Janeiro on 18
March where he was due to meet some new friends.
The men turned up and, following a brief chat, bundled Mr Biggs into a
waiting car.
From there it is believed they took him by plane to the coast where
they boarded a yacht bound for Barbados.
The kidnap is thought to be an attempt to get Mr Biggs extradited to
serve the rest of his sentence in the UK.
He has been on the run since 1965 when he escaped from Wandsworth
Prison where he was serving 30 years for his involvement in the Great
Train Robbery of 1963.
The men who carried out the kidnap are reported to be members of a
security firm headed by Patrick King and John Miller.
Speaking about the kidnap Mr Miller said: "There was certainly, never
at any stage any collusion between us. It wasn't that we wanted to bring
him back personally, it was just a job. If we hadn't done it someone else
certainly would have."
Asked about the suggestion the whole thing was staged Mr Miller said:
"Ronnie Biggs never agreed to come with us. All I want to do now is get
the guys out of jail and get them back home. We have no intention of
selling the story to the press."
Britain and Brazil are both fighting to have Mr Biggs returned to their
shores when he is released from questioning.
Former Detective Superintendent Jack Slipper, the man who led the
initial hunt for Mr Biggs said: "I would have liked him to come back under
his own steam or under some other legal method."