Notorious gangster Bertie Kidd says drugs have changed the face of crime
He’s cracked safes, fixed races and staged bank robberies but insists he was ‘always respectful’. At 88, this notorious gangster is telling all about his “colourful” life of crime.
Victoria
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One of Australia’s most notorious criminals has spoken for the first time about how he smuggled himself in a crate from Sydney to Melbourne to steal $2 million in cash from a drug cartel.
Convicted career criminal Bertie Kidd, now aged 88, has a decorated history robbing banks, counterfeiting money, safe cracking and fixing horse races.
The former standover man, once described by police as a “nasty, vicious and violent criminal”, served a total of 27 years in prison.
In his new book, The Notorious Kidd, he reveals a tip from a corrupt cop led to him boarding a domestic aeroplane while hidden in a small crate which resembled a miniature coffin.
“I was worried they would be able to hear me breathing, or even my fast-beating heart,” Kidd said about hiding in the crate.
“As we barrelled along the tarmac, the roar of the engines grew deafening and I had to cover my ears with my hands.”
It was here Kidd stole a bag containing a lump sum of cash in $50 bills which belonged to a major drug cartel.
“My eyes were the size of saucers as I discovered I was about to have a tremendous win,” he said.
“There were all sorts of objects in the hold aside from luggage, ranging from various live animals to usually padlocked cages. I was intrigued; it was like an Aladdin’s cave.
“I was gobsmacked. I was much the wiser after my unorthodox journey: clearly there were rich pickings to be had in the sky.”
To this day the self-described “ratbag” has not been convicted of anything to do with this crime as the syndicate was unable to report the stolen cash.
Kidd was so disliked by authorities that the federal government unsuccessfully tried to deport him in 2015 due to his extensive rap sheet.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, Kidd said although he was a notorious criminal, he was respectful.
“I was a colourful character,” he said.
“But I was always respectful. I resented being in supermax prisons but I have no regrets. I enjoyed every bit of it.”
Kidd said drugs in Australia’s prison system have become an epidemic.
“Drugs have taken over,” he said.
“Instead of locking them up and throwing the key away, more needs to be done to help prisoners.”
Author Simon Griffin said Kidd was “not the ideal inmate” when he first arrived at Pentridge Prison in 1971, rather he was a “nightmare who caused havoc” and was described by the prison minister as a “damned pest”.
“Bertie is well known among journalists, they know he is the real deal,” he said.
“Chopper Read doesn’t even come close to this guy.
“He was quite a formidable force in his day, people were terrified of him.
“Bertie will go down in history as one of Australia’s most infamous gangsters once the full story comes out.
“He wants his side of the story out, there are many rumours that people have taken credit for a lot of the stuff he has done. It’s a story like no other.”
A LIFE OF CRIME: BERTIE’S STORY, IN HIS OWN WORDS
Smuggled in a crate, to steal
I swung straight into business mode on my release, catching up with my colourful crew and my sugar bags. Before long, I was contacted by a senior detective who was investigating a major drug syndicate.
During his investigation he’d found out that large sums of money were being transferred between the state capitals on commercial flights. He suggested if I could somehow get to the money en route, it would be a substantial haul and very hard for anyone to trace.
What the detective didn’t know was that I’d already heard of the drug cartel’s transfers, some of which were reputed to consist of between two to three million dollars, from a young cartel member I’d met in Newnes. Not only that, while I was inside, I’d had a carpenter friend build a crate capable of carrying me into the hold of a plane.
After a few days of rest and recreation I went to visit my carpenter, who couldn’t wait to show me his design.
The crate was 3.3 feet long by 2.5 feet wide and deep. It reminded me of a miniature coffin – which it could well have ended up being if I got anything wrong.
After marvelling at his craftsmanship, I hopped inside. I had to raise my knees to fit, but it felt comfortable.
I had the crate shipped to a friend’s factory close to the airport. I wanted to be on the next plane carrying the cash, and I didn’t have to wait long.
Within a week I was given the details of the next transfer, on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne. I was all set.
On the day in question, I got into my coffin, which was then loaded onto a ute for the quick drive to the airport. I was dressed in tracksuit bottoms, a T-shirt and sneakers and had only a bottle of water for sustenance.
When we arrived at the freight depot, the crate was marked and labelled “Spare Parts” and “Handle with Care”.
I began to feel a tad nervous. What if I’d got things wrong and they put me in a hold with no air?
But before I could get too panicky, I sensed the crate being lifted and put onto a trolley. I felt a kick on the crate and heard a couple of men laughing; I could hear their conversations clear as a bell. Then I was on the tarmac and being lifted into the hold.
When the baggage handlers were close I held my breath, as every sound from outside seemed to be amplified by my crate. But soon there was silence, then I heard the plane start up.
As we barrelled along the tarmac, the roar of the engines grew deafening and I had to bring my hands up to cover my ears.
After the plane levelled out, I unlatched my crate and crawled out. It’s a 90-minute flight from Sydney to Melbourne, which was plenty of time for me to find my target. The luggage hold was massive, much bigger than I’d expected. I spotted a couple of dogs and was worried they might start barking, but it appeared they were in shock or in some kind of trance – I figured they had probably been drugged.
I quickly scanned the luggage, looking for the target bag. I’d been given a detailed description and told the gang used the same bag for every shipment.
Within 10 minutes of rummaging, I’d found it. The fact that it was a bag and not a suitcase made my job a lot easier: I slowly unzipped it, revealing banknote-shaped blocks tightly wrapped in black plastic.
My eyes were the size of saucers as I bit off a bit of the plastic and discovered I was about to have a tremendous win.
To fit all the cash in my crate I had to take out half the blocks and place them at the base, where my feet were, and along the edges. I then climbed back into the crate and flattened the bag against my chest to test it would all fit.
I was electric but knew it was not over until I’d been picked up and taken to a safe place. After some time I felt the engines slowing and the plane begin its descent.
When we came to a halt, the loading bay hatches were opened and within no time I was surrounded by a buzz of activity. I was hoisted onto a trailer with a host of other objects and whisked to the freight depot.
Then I heard, “Excuse me, sir, your crate has arrived.”
The crate was then lifted into a station wagon, and within 10 minutes I heard the voice of one of my team: “Are you OK, mate?”
I didn’t reply, so he immediately pulled over and opened the padlocked crate in a panic. As he lifted the top panel, I yelled “Boo!”
He jumped back like a startled gazelle. I’d scared the shit out of him.
On arrival at the timber yard, I unpacked the crate. When I added up the cash, I found there was over $2 million in $50 notes. I was gobsmacked. Clearly there were rich pickings to be had in the sky.
The Murwillumbah bank robbery: ‘They got the lot’.
As Mick and I settled into Long Bay, we were both on the same page regarding Murwillumbah, feeling that the job had to be carried out sooner rather than later.
But how could we do this with us both locked up?
I already had a small team in place, but I’d need two others. Within a few days I’d thought of a couple of candidates.
I summoned Johnny the Wig, who was now to be my ringleader, ran over the job in detail and gave him the names, which he approved of – two guys named Roger and Terry.
I asked Johnny to have a confidential chat with them, using only the broadest terms, to gauge their interest. It did not take long for both of them to accept. When Mick and I were able to get together, it was all about business and planning, and it made the start of our jail time more enjoyable.
We rescheduled the job for three months away, to give us time to bring Roger and Terry up to speed.
My sugar bag was informed that everything would continue as planned; the only thing he wouldn’t know was the exact day.
He was still to relay information and let us know if there were going to be any problems. Our research revealed that the job could be highly lucrative, perhaps yielding a few million dollars, which today would be worth about $10 million.
As the day neared, I was on edge. I tried to fall asleep the night before the heist, but my mind was racing and I kept running through the whole job as if I was with them.
I learned later that the team were also excited as they followed the van on the last leg of its journey next day, to ensure they wouldn’t be opening an empty vault.
The fact that Murwillumbah was a small country town made that task, and the whole job, a lot easier than if it had been in a major city like Sydney.
Delivery confirmed, the boys headed for a light dinner in beautiful Byron Bay, about an hour away on the coast. When they returned to Murwillumbah it was late evening and there wasn’t a soul in sight.
They covertly parked and unloaded their tools, then made their way into the bank with a minimum of fuss through the back door.
Once inside, they set up their magnetic drills and started to bore into the steel vault, which is an arduous task.
Meanwhile, a cocky was keeping an eye out for anything untoward outside.
After opening the vault, the boys systematically extracted the contents and loaded it into large linen bags before putting sheets on top.
I’d told them that the most important thing was to jam the vault before they left, making it harder for bank staff to get into it the next day and giving them more time to get away. If they couldn’t do that, they were to drive to my shack and stay there for three or four days before heading back to Sydney during the day.
As it turned out, the following day it took the authorities until 4.30 in the afternoon to open the vault, by which time my boys had already arrived back in Sydney and were enjoying a nice nap.
The cops had flown in experts from Chubb in Brisbane, who worked on the vault till 1pm, to no avail. Then they got a Tweed Shire work crew in and they spent two hours bashing through the concrete, before the police used oxyacetylene to do the rest.
The whole thing was broadcast live on all the major TV channels. We watched in the prison common room with delight as NSW Police Chief Inspector Frank Charlton stuck his head through the hole and looked inside.
The first thing he said after pulling his head out was “They got the lot,” to which we gave a rousing cheer.
Charlton’s statement became a catchphrase and was soon emblazoned on T-shirts, beer glasses, coffee mugs and other paraphernalia.
The boys had done a fantastic job, and I was proud of each and every one of them. We’d managed to engineer and orchestrate a perfect robbery while locked inside a jail. It was a fantastic result.
The publicity around the robbery was intense and the story ran for days. The police had very few leads and were constantly asking the public for help.
The haul was estimated at $1.7 million, but it turned out to be more than was reported.
The robbery has gone down in history and has been a mystery for decades; the robbers have never been caught and never will be.
That’s because they are almost all now dead, after living rich lives on the proceeds of this job.
Edited extracts from The Notorious Kidd, published by Fin Press, available now for $34.95 at www.finpress.com.au, Amazon, Apple iBooks and select bookstores from July 1
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Originally published as Notorious gangster Bertie Kidd says drugs have changed the face of crime
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