CHERUB: Maximum Security by Robert Muchamore Page A
Authors: Robert Muchamore
Tags: CHERUB
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Brigands .
The Brigands were suspected of paying for their lifestyle by smuggling drugs across the border from Mexico and Kurt’s house was under twenty-four-hour police surveillance. Archived photographs show Jane making a rapid transformation from hippy to leather- and denim-clad biker. Police didn’t bother enquiring as to who Jane was or where she had come from, because of the notoriously low status of women within the biker subculture (according to the rule book of the Brigand Motorcycle Club, women were not allowed to join the gang as full members, ride motorcycles except as pillion passengers, engage in any criminal activity, or speak at official club meetings except to offer food or drink to the men) .
Kurt became excited when he heard Jane’s story about the stolen security passes and the cases of guns at Oakland navy base, but he was no peace protestor. His plan was to steal two truckloads of guns and sell them on the black market to a drug dealing acquaintance in Mexico, who would in turn sell the weapons on to rebel and terrorist groups in Africa and South America .
Jane had attended dozens of anti-war demonstrations while living in Oakland. Despite this, she readily agreed to Kurt’s gun-smuggling plan. Criminal psychologists have described Jane’s behaviour as a textbook example of an extreme thrill seeker: a person with few moral scruples, who finds everyday life boring and constantly craves dangerous relationships and activities .
T HE R ISE AND F ALL OF K URT & J ANE O XFORD
Kurt Oxford and Jane Hammond robbed the docks at Oakland navy base on three separate occasions, earning themselves over $25,000 (equivalent to $145,000 at today’s prices). Jane did some research and realised that every military supply depot in the United States used identical, easy-to-fake, security paperwork. Over the next two years, Kurt and Jane staged over eighty robberies on United States military facilities .
Jane had stolen reference books from her father that showed where different kinds of military supplies were stored. She would place an order over the phone, pretending to be the assistant of a senior officer in the logistics corps. The next day, a clean-shaven Kurt would arrive at the supply depot in an army surplus truck, wearing uniform and carrying a set of authentic-looking paperwork that Jane had typed up in her motel room the night before. The truck would be loaded up and Kurt would drive out laden with weapons. The Mexican arms dealer would then ship the load to South America .
The beauty of this scheme was that the robberies went unnoticed; at least to begin with. With a quarter of a million troops on duty in Vietnam, thousands of US military trucks were moving weapons and ammunition around the country. The paper-based stock control system made keeping an up-to-date tally on every movement impossible. Even when someone checked the paperwork and noticed that a truckload of guns had vanished, it would be several months after the event and everyone would assume it was a clerical error rather than a robbery .
By 1968, Kurt and Jane were earning over $20,000 (2005 equivalent – $110,000) a month from their illegal weapons business. With over half a million dollars stashed in overseas bank accounts, they had started flying first class and staying in five-star hotels. They also stopped doing robberies themselves and began relying on members of the Brigands motorcycle gang to do their dirty work .
On 26 December 1968, Kurt Oxford and Jane Hammond landed in Las Vegas and booked a suite at the Desert Inn resort and casino. Kurt purchased a two-carat diamond ring and the next morning, he took his eighteen-year-old girlfriend on a limousine ride to a wedding chapel. After the ceremony, Kurt and Jane changed into swimwear, got drunk at the poolside and began losing heavily at a floating blackjack table .
Kurt took offence when another blackjack player called him a fool. Kurt punched the man out and ended up being
The Brigands were suspected of paying for their lifestyle by smuggling drugs across the border from Mexico and Kurt’s house was under twenty-four-hour police surveillance. Archived photographs show Jane making a rapid transformation from hippy to leather- and denim-clad biker. Police didn’t bother enquiring as to who Jane was or where she had come from, because of the notoriously low status of women within the biker subculture (according to the rule book of the Brigand Motorcycle Club, women were not allowed to join the gang as full members, ride motorcycles except as pillion passengers, engage in any criminal activity, or speak at official club meetings except to offer food or drink to the men) .
Kurt became excited when he heard Jane’s story about the stolen security passes and the cases of guns at Oakland navy base, but he was no peace protestor. His plan was to steal two truckloads of guns and sell them on the black market to a drug dealing acquaintance in Mexico, who would in turn sell the weapons on to rebel and terrorist groups in Africa and South America .
Jane had attended dozens of anti-war demonstrations while living in Oakland. Despite this, she readily agreed to Kurt’s gun-smuggling plan. Criminal psychologists have described Jane’s behaviour as a textbook example of an extreme thrill seeker: a person with few moral scruples, who finds everyday life boring and constantly craves dangerous relationships and activities .
T HE R ISE AND F ALL OF K URT & J ANE O XFORD
Kurt Oxford and Jane Hammond robbed the docks at Oakland navy base on three separate occasions, earning themselves over $25,000 (equivalent to $145,000 at today’s prices). Jane did some research and realised that every military supply depot in the United States used identical, easy-to-fake, security paperwork. Over the next two years, Kurt and Jane staged over eighty robberies on United States military facilities .
Jane had stolen reference books from her father that showed where different kinds of military supplies were stored. She would place an order over the phone, pretending to be the assistant of a senior officer in the logistics corps. The next day, a clean-shaven Kurt would arrive at the supply depot in an army surplus truck, wearing uniform and carrying a set of authentic-looking paperwork that Jane had typed up in her motel room the night before. The truck would be loaded up and Kurt would drive out laden with weapons. The Mexican arms dealer would then ship the load to South America .
The beauty of this scheme was that the robberies went unnoticed; at least to begin with. With a quarter of a million troops on duty in Vietnam, thousands of US military trucks were moving weapons and ammunition around the country. The paper-based stock control system made keeping an up-to-date tally on every movement impossible. Even when someone checked the paperwork and noticed that a truckload of guns had vanished, it would be several months after the event and everyone would assume it was a clerical error rather than a robbery .
By 1968, Kurt and Jane were earning over $20,000 (2005 equivalent – $110,000) a month from their illegal weapons business. With over half a million dollars stashed in overseas bank accounts, they had started flying first class and staying in five-star hotels. They also stopped doing robberies themselves and began relying on members of the Brigands motorcycle gang to do their dirty work .
On 26 December 1968, Kurt Oxford and Jane Hammond landed in Las Vegas and booked a suite at the Desert Inn resort and casino. Kurt purchased a two-carat diamond ring and the next morning, he took his eighteen-year-old girlfriend on a limousine ride to a wedding chapel. After the ceremony, Kurt and Jane changed into swimwear, got drunk at the poolside and began losing heavily at a floating blackjack table .
Kurt took offence when another blackjack player called him a fool. Kurt punched the man out and ended up being
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