A man who conspired with a Chubb security driver to steal $285,000 from a van parked outside Auckland University last year has admitted masterminding the heist.
Raven Farrell, aged 23, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Auckland District Court to one charge of theft.
He made the admission a short time before a jury retired to consider the case.
His brother, Clayton Farrell, 24, is accused of helping to raid the Chubb van on July 28 last year.
The jury will resume its deliberations on that theft charge today.
Crown prosecutor David McNaughton said the robbery was clearly an inside job.
Former Chubb employee Wayne Martin was already serving two years' imprisonment for helping to steal the cash.
"The thieves knew when to get in, they knew where to get in and they knew how to get in. It was an inside job all the way," Mr McNaughton said.
Martin, a family friend of the Farrells, had left the Chubb van's engine running when he parked in Alfred St outside the student union building just after 6 am. As a result the alarm system was deactivated, allowing Raven Farrell and an associate, since jailed, to pry the van's door open with a crowbar.
Mr McNaughton said the robbery occurred at the first stop on Martin's run and the van was fully loaded with $400,000 cash.
The Chubb van's co-driver was new to that run and had accompanied Martin to a secure room behind an ATM machine where they could not see the street or the van.
Defence lawyer Robert Kee said Clayton Farrell had been asleep in the getaway car and, while at the scene, had not been a participant.
The Crown insisted Clayton Farrell was the getaway driver and received a $25,000 cut for his services.
He later paid $12,500 in $20 notes for a car and has pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge.
Judge Stan Thorburn remanded Raven Farrell in custody for sentence next month.
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