Three men conspired to murder Paul Allen, a key figure in Britain’s biggest cash robbery, in a brutal attack

Three men have been convicted of plotting to assassinate Paul Allen, a notorious criminal linked to Britain’s biggest-ever cash robbery, in a violent shooting that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Allen, 46, was standing in the kitchen of his east London home on the night of 11 July 2019 when at least six bullets were fired from a Glock handgun through his back garden fence. Two of the rounds struck him—one in the hand, the other in the throat, severing his spinal cord and leaving him wheelchair-bound for life.

His partner, Jade Bovingdon, screamed in terror as she witnessed the execution-style attack, yelling, “He’s been shot, he’s been shot!”. A private security guard rushed to help before armed police and paramedics arrived.

Meticulously Planned Execution Attempt

The assailants—Louis Ahearne, 36, Stewart Ahearne, 46, and Daniel Kelly, 46—had meticulously plotted the attack, even going so far as to fit a tracking device to Allen’s car to monitor his movements.

Using a stolen Renault Captur, the trio drove from Woolwich to Allen’s rented home in Woodford, where they lay in wait. Forensic evidence later placed Kelly and Louis Ahearne at the scene, with DNA matched to a fence panel near where the shots were fired.

During the trial at the Old Bailey, prosecutors described Allen as a “sophisticated career criminal”, though they did not reveal the precise motive behind the attempt on his life.

A Criminal Past Tied to Britain’s Largest Cash Heist

Allen was a key player in the infamous £54M Securitas heist in 2006, where masked gunmen kidnapped the depot manager and his family at gunpoint before forcing employees to load cash into a 7.5-tonne lorry.

After the daring raid, Allen fled to Morocco alongside heist mastermind and fellow cage fighter Lee Murray but was later extradited back to the UK, where he served 18 years in prison.

A Criminal Empire: Swiss Heist and Global Crimes

The month before the shooting, the Ahearne brothers and Kelly executed another high-stakes crime, stealing £2.78M worth of Ming Dynasty antiques from the Museum of Far Eastern Arts in Geneva.

After smuggling a stolen porcelain bowl to Hong Kong, authorities finally recovered a £2M Ming vase when an undercover officer posed as a buyer in a central London hotel. The Ahearne brothers were jailed in Switzerland, while Kelly remains wanted in Japan for his alleged role in a £630,000 jewelry store heist in Tokyo.

Attempted Murderers Brought to Justice

On Monday, the jury found all three men guilty of conspiring to murder Allen. During sentencing, Detective Superintendent Matt Webb of the Metropolitan Police described them as “hardened organized criminals” who carried out a “calculated and well-planned execution attempt”.

“This attack may look like the plot to a Hollywood blockbuster, but the reality is something far more chilling,” he said.

Allen, now permanently disabled, did not testify in the trial. Meanwhile, Kelly attempted to distance himself from the attack, telling authorities, “I have got no issues with him; I’ve known him for 25 years.”

The three convicted men now face life behind bars, marking the latest chapter in a criminal saga that has spanned multiple countries, millions in stolen goods, and a life-changing act of violence.