He, and others, stole £2.6million from a mail train. After he was convicted, he escaped from Wandsworth Prison in 1965, and fled to Brazil in 1970. He spent the next three decades of his life a fugitive, and became somewhat of a media celebrity.
In 2001 he announced, to the Sun newspaper that he would be willing to return to the UK. He did so on May 7, 2001, and much to his family's displeasure was re-imprisoned. He had 28 years of his sentence left. Since his return he has undergone numerous health scares, including two heart attacks, and has failed to get his sentence overturned or reduced.