Underbelly identity son linked to $2.4m heist, court told
It was one of Melbourne’s most notorious armed robberies — a heist that saw $2.4 million of Reserve Bank money disappear. Now a court has heard of Graham “The Munster” Kinniburgh’s son’s links to those allegedly behind the robbery.
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The son of a slain underbelly identity has been linked to a multimillion-dollar heist, a court has heard.
Graham “The Munster” Kinniburgh’s son was an apprentice to the locksmith believed to have provided the key that helped a road gang pull off one of Melbourne’s most notorious armed robberies, a court has heard.
During the ongoing trial of Pasquale “Percy” Lanciana, a former detective investigating the 1994 heist revealed Brent Kinniburgh was an employee at the Prahran locksmith suspected of duplicating the key used to enter the Armaguard van carrying $2.4 million.
Retired detective Ross McKenzie said the Kinniburgh name “rang several bells” as he had been part of the major crime squad surveilling The Munster, believed to be responsible for a series of burglaries across inner Melbourne.
The senior crime figure was shot dead outside his home in Kew, the jury heard.
Mr McKenzie also revealed Armaguard employee John Johnston, who was riding in the back of the truck when it was hijacked on the streets of Richmond, was believed to be the crew’s “inside man”.
Mr Lanciana has pleaded not guilty to the heist — dubbed the Richmond Road Gang Robbery — in which five men posed as road workers to block a van carrying cash from the Reserve Bank.
The court heard the men used two specially cut keys to gain entry to the back of the truck. One was left on the floor of the van after the men fled with the cash.
Forensic analysis of the key led detectives to a locksmith in Prahran owned by Brian McLaren. It was revealed Brent Kinniburgh was a former employee of Mr McLaren’s and had visited and made phone calls to the shop after he finished working there and in the months leading up to the robbery.
While Mr McLaren was considered a “major target” in the investigation, Brent Kinniburgh was never extensively looked into in relation to the robbery.
“There was an incredible amount of information,” Mr McKenzie said. “I was trying to localise it … and concentrate on the people I (believed) were involved.”
He alerted contemporary investigators in 2013 of Mr Kinniburgh’s link to the locksmith.
As the detective in charge of Operation Road Gang, Mr McKenzie said the duplicate key and how the robbers got their hands on it, was a central focus of his investigation.
He said he was suspicious of the van’s escort from the beginning. “My biggest concern was Mr Johnston in the back,” he told the court.
The Armaguard employee made no attempt to warn fellow workers when armed bandits stormed the truck and his company firearm was later found without bullets — despite witnesses stating they saw him receive a loaded gun that morning.
It was also revealed Mr Johnston, who has since passed away, had been on duty during a similar armed holdup of a van in Glen Waverley three years earlier.
The robbers also used duplicate keys to gain access to that truck, netting almost $200,000, the court heard.
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Mr McKenzie said he was concerned by Mr Johnston’s unexplained wealth, including a big house in the suburbs with a pool plus an investment property.
During more than a week of cross-examination the retired detective detailed a series of suspects with extensive criminal history that he believed were directly linked to the Richmond robbery.
The trial before Judge O’Connell continues.