Murder hunt launched after death of infamous criminal John 'Goldfinger' Palmer

John “Goldfinger” Palmer, one of Britain’s most notorious criminals, has become the latest underworld figure to fall victim to the “curse of Brink’s-MAT” after he was shot dead at his home.

Palmer, who was tried for melting down gold bars stolen in the £26 million theft of bullion and jewellery from a warehouse at Heathrow Airport, is the eighth person with close links to the 1983 robbery to be shot dead.

The 64-year-old was initially reported to have died of natural causes when his body was found at his home in South Weald, near Brentwood, Essex, on June 24, but Essex Police have now launched a murder inquiry after a post-mortem examination found he had been shot in the chest.

Palmer, who was once described as Britain’s richest criminal with a fortune of £300m, was jailed at the Old Bailey in 2001 over his involvement in a vast timeshare swindle, which cost thousands of British holidaymakers their life savings.

• NEW: Bungling police failed to notice John 'Goldfinger' Palmer was shot

_{John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer, with his former wife Marnie in 1987, was said to have had a £300 million fortune}

But he was best known for his connection to the Brink’s-MAT heist, for which he was tried in 1987. He was said to have melted down bullion from the robbery in his back garden, but he denied knowing the bullion was stolen and was acquitted.

The Brink’s-MAT robbery was carried out by a gang of six, who had expected to find £3 million in cash but instead discovered three tonnes of gold in the warehouse owned by an American security company.

Only three men – Micky McAvoy, Brian Robinson and his brother-in-law Anthony Black, a security guard at the warehouse – were ever convicted of carrying out the robbery.

Because the gang had no expertise in handling gold, they had to recruit other underworld figures to help them dispose of the metal and launder their money.

Inevitably, gangsters connected with the robbery fell out with each other and violence followed.

Nick Whiting, who was accused by some gang members of being an informant, was the first to be killed, in 1990, when he was stabbed nine times and shot twice. The same year Charlie Wilson, one of the Great Train Robbers, who had been hired to launder some of the proceeds of Brink’s-MAT, was shot dead on his doorstep in Marbella.

Donald Urquhart, a money launderer, was found shot dead in 1995. The following year Keith Hedley, another suspected money launderer linked to the raid, was shot and killed by three men on his yacht off Corfu, and two years later Solly Nahome, a Hatton Garden jeweller said to have handled the stolen gold, was found dead outside his home in Finchley with four bullets in his head.

(left - right) Nick Whiting, Charlie Wilson and Donald Urquhart

Then in 2001 Brian Perry, who served a jail sentence for handling the gold, was shot in the head. George Francis, said to have been another member of the gang, was also shot dead the same year.

Around half of the stolen gold remains unaccounted for.

Palmer had been facing trial over another alleged timeshare con at the time of his death.

He had been charged with fraud, firearm possession and money laundering after an eight-year investigation in Tenerife, where he had his second home.

Days before his death he had been told he could be facing a 15-year prison sentence, and nine others were also facing charges, including his girlfriend Christine Ketley and nephews Andrew Palmer and Dean Morris.

^{(Clockwise from top left) Solly Nahome, Brian Perry and George Francis and Kenneth Noye}

DCI Simon Werrett, from Essex Police, who is leading the investigation, has called for the public's help.

He said: "My team would like to speak to anybody who was around Sandpit Lane between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday June 24. The area is rural but is often used by dog walkers and joggers.

"Did you see any people or suspicious vehicles in the area? Did you witness anything out of the ordinary?

"Officers are at the scene making enquiries and I would urge anyone with information, no matter how small, to come forward."