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21/01/03 - Nipper's arrest
in the 'top ten'
This is Local London
The man responsible for 'nicking' the infamous Kray twins,
Leonard "Nipper" Read has welcomed the inclusion
of the case in a table of the top ten greatest arrests
ever made by the police. The list, published in the Police
Review magazine to celebrate its 110th anniversary, placed
the arrest of the gangland brothers by Mr Read, who lives
in Nazeing, in sixth place.
The then detective superintendent was the man charged
with the responsibility of bringing the brothers' criminal
empire to justice. His team spent months compiling a wealth
of intelligence and evidence against Ronnie and Reggie
which ultimately led to their arrest in May 1968 for the
murder of George Cornell and Jack "The Hat"
McVitie.
They were convicted at the Old Bailey on March 8, 1969,
and sentenced to life behind bars along with numerous
members of their gang. Now, over 33 years later, Mr Read
is happy that the case has achieved yet more recognition,
with its inclusion in the list compiled by Police Federation
chairman Jan Berry and Superintendents' Association vice-president
Rick Naylor.
All of the arrests chosen were done so because of their
importance and standing at the time they were made. The
grisly Dr Crippen murders of 1910 was ranked top because
Hawley Harvey Crippen was the first criminal caught using
a wireless message before his subsequent execution at
Pentonville Prison.
Mr Read said: "It's nice to find we made it into
the top ten. It shows I must have done something right!
But it would have been nice to be number one! "Each
case was judged on its individual merits. The Crippen
case was a major 'first' in the sense that it used morse
code but there were a series of sensational issues involved
too.
"But you can't compare these cases really, I think
the list is about right. There are all sorts of reasons
why each case has been included. It's almost like 'what's
the best film'. They were all the most sensational of
their time and the Kray case was no different."
Among the other infamous cases included in the list was
the arrest and conviction of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe
in 1981, the Great Train Robbers in 1963 and the failed
Millennum Dome diamond heist in 2000. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
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