TWO cash-in-transit staff who hatched a plot to steal £7 million from Heathrow Airport face jail after being found guilty by a jury.

Mohammed Naheen Siddique, 32, and Ranjeev Singh, 40, staged a heist so they could steal 19 bags of cash that they were supposed to transport to the Bank of Ireland.

Siddique, of Belgrave Road, Slough, and Singh, of Grampian Way, Langley, were caught following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad.

The millions, however, have still not been recovered.

The pair were found guilty of the £7 million conspiracy at Kingston Crown Court.

Det Ch Insp Mark Bedford said: “Although this was an organised theft involving months of planning, it would not have been possible without the calculating and devious actions of Singh and Siddique who abused their positions to subvert the secure processes put in place to prevent this type of offence.”

Siddique and Singh both worked for the cash handling company, Loomis, and were on the same shift on March 14 where they were tasked with picking up the £7 million from the British Airways cargo depot.

However, shortly after they picked it up at 8.30am, their Loomis van pulled over outside the security gates to allow Singh to use the toilet, an unauthorised stop which went against all procedures.

While Singh was in the toilet, Siddique drove off and parked a short distance away in West View, Feltham.

Singh took 20 minutes to raise the alarm with Loomis – and claimed that he did not have a phone to contact Siddique himself.

The delay allowed Siddique, assisted by another man, to unload the bags of cash into a white Ford Transit van parked in West View.

Siddique’s hands and ankles were then bound with cable ties and he was left on a service road near the M40 in Bucks, to give the impression of a robbery. He was later found by a member of the public at 11.15am.

During interview, Siddique claimed the theft had been organised by a man who had threatened to burn his house down.

However, analysis of a mobile phone found on Singh, despite his claims that he didn’t have one, revealed that it had been used to call Siddique during the time that the cash was stolen.

The analysis also revealed that another man, Rafaqat Hussain, 41, of Chadwick Road, Slough had also been in regular contact with Singh on the day of the theft. He has already admitted the conspiracy.

Detectives established that Hussain had called a recovery driver at 9.24am on March 14, and the Transit van used in the theft, which later appeared near Hussain’s house, was loaded on to a vehicle transporter and taken to a recycling centre where it was scrapped.

Hussain’s wife Razvana Zeib, 35, separately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after investigations revealed £900,000 had been transferred to a Pakistani bank account opened in her name.

Zeib and another defendant, Gary Carrod, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle after a house in Stoke Poges, which Hussain was planning to buy at a knockdown price, was burgled and ransacked.

Det Ch Insp Bedford added: “The pair (Siddique and Singh) attempted to present themselves as victims of a robbery even going so far as arranging for Siddique to be tied up and left by a motorway to be found by innocent members of the public.

“However, a swift and thorough investigation by the Flying Squad uncovered their lies, led to their accomplices being identified and ensured their successful conviction at court.

“Both men are now likely to receive substantial custodial sentences reflecting their calculated abuse of their employer’s trust and the value of the monies stolen.”