Brinks Mat launderer 'executed'
Perry was shot dead outside his office in November 2001
The boss of a minicab firm who helped launder money from the Brinks Mat robbery (
) was executed by a hitman outside his office, a court has heard.
Brian Perry was shot three times and died immediately, the prosecution said.
Mr Perry, from Kent, had served a nine- year jail term for handling stolen goods from the 1983 gold bullion heist.
Joseph Pitkin, 31, of Verulam Avenue and Bilal Akhtar, 22, from Canning Road, both Walthamstow, east London, deny the murder on 16 November 2001.
Prosecutor Richard Whittam said Mr Perry's connection to the £26m robbery "may or may not" have been a reason for the murder, which took place on a street in Bermondsey, south London.
The killing had the appearance of a professional hit or murder
Prosecutor Richard Whittam
"It may be a relevant factor for you to consider," he told jurors.
Prosecutors alleged Mr Pitkin had shot Mr Perry, from Brasted, and Akhtar had sourced the car and the getaway car.
Neither man had any known motive to kill Mr Perry.
"[But] if this was a professional hit or execution, there would be no motive for those recruited other than money or reward paid by whoever it was who recruited them," said Mr Whittam.
"The killing had the appearance of a professional hit or murder. Mr Perry was shot as he went about his daily routine."
DNA link
The masked killer, dressed in dark clothes, shot Mr Perry in the head, chest and back before driving away in a car fitted with false number plates.
There was no suggestion Mr Akhtar was in the car at the time, but two months later he admitted he possessed a firearm similar to the type used in the killing, Mr Whittam said.
"It was found in circumstances which indicate it was in fact the gun that was used. Some of the bullets were of the same type used in the murder," he told the jury.
A balaclava found at the scene had mixed DNA which included both Mr Pitkins' and Mr Akhtars', he added.
The trial continues.
