homes of two employees of Northern Bank, one in Downpatrick, County Down, the other in Poleglass, west Belfast. Chris Ward was taken from his house in County Down and driven to Poleglass, where Kevin McMullan (his supervisor at the bank) had been tied up by men masquerading as officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Gunmen remained at Ward's home, keeping his family hostage. McMullan's wife was taken from her home and held at an unknown location. The criminals left at 06:00 on Monday morning, 20 December 2004, having instructed McMullan and Ward to report for work as normal at the bank's headquarters. The gang constantly kept in touch with the workers using mobile telephones they had been given. They were ordered to tell staff to go home early and to fill a bag with £1 million in £50 and £100 notes. Ward was then asked to leave the bank carrying the bag and go to a bus stop in nearby Upper Queen Street, where one of the robbers picked it up. This was later regarded as being a test run for the main theft in the evening. McMullan and Ward remained at work after the close of business and were instructed to load crates of banknotes onto trolleys. Having told the security staff they would be wheeling out rubbish for collection, they made four trips to move the trolleys from the basement to the bullion bay, where money was normally picked up and dropped off. They covered the crates with office furniture and empty cardboard boxes to disguise them. After Ward called the gang, a white van came to the headquarters and was permitted by security to enter the bay, where it took the two bank employees 15 minutes to load everything in. The criminals said they would return to pick up more trolleys, ordering Ward and McMullan to fill up as many as possible. By the time the van returned, they had only filled two more, which were again wheeled up from basement to the van. The two employees then locked up the bank, setting alarms and leaving as usual. They drove to Ward's house, where the masked men were still guarding his family. At around 21:00, the criminals left, carefully erasing any forensic trace of their presence by scrubbing surfaces down and taking away any cups they had used. After twenty minutes, McMullan left and