with Brian Robinson, who appeared in Flying Squad intelligence files. Black confessed in December 1983 to aiding and abetting the raiders, providing them with impressions of the key to the main door, and giving them details of security measures and became an informer. He identified his brother-in-law, Brian Robinson, as one of the robbers. Ten days after the robbery, Robinson and Micky McAvoy were arrested. Anthony White was also arrested for the robbery but was later acquitted. In January 1985, the premises in Bath were raided and the furnace was found but the occupier, John Palmer, a jeweller and bullion dealer, was on holiday in Tenerife. His former partners Garth Chappell and Terrence Patch were arrested. The sudden movement of £13 million through Bristol area branches of Barclays Bank allegedly came to the notice of the Bank of England, which informed the police although the Bank of England denied this. McAvoy had entrusted part of his share to associates Brian Perry and George Francis. Perry recruited Kenneth Noye, who was an expert in his field, to dispose of the gold. Noye melted down the bullion and recast it for sale, mixing in copper coins to disguise the source. Noye was placed under police surveillance. In January 1985, he encountered Detective Constable John Fordham in the grounds of his home and stabbed him 10 times, resulting in the detective's death. Noye claimed that he had been attacked and killed Fordham in self defence and at the resulting trial, the jury found him not guilty of murder. Brian Reader was also at the property at the time and put on trial for murder but was acquitted. In 1986, seven men, including Noye, Reader, Chappell and Patch, were put on trial for handling the stolen gold, with Noye accused of masterminding and controlling the operation to launder the robbery proceeds. Palmer was deported to Britain from Brazil in 1986 and was put on trial in 1987. In court, Palmer said he was unaware the gold was linked to the robbery and he was cleared of all charges. Another suspect, John Fleming, was held in Miami in 1986 after being deported from Costa Rica where he had arrived following an earlier ejection from Spain. He was subsequently deported from the US to the UK in 1987 and charged with handling £840,000. Despite the three year attempt to question him, his case was thrown out