Machete-wielding robber raided travel agency for currency

Aidan King, 24, admitted targeting the Barrhead Travel in Newton Means on January 17.

Machete-wielding robber raided travel agency for currency Google 2020

A machete-wielding robber stole £21,595.31 in foreign currency from a travel agency and then made his getaway in a £450 car bought from Facebook.

Aidan King, 24, admitted targeting the Barrhead Travel in Newton Means, East Renfrewshire, on January 17.

On Tuesday, the High Court in Glasgow heard how a masked King entered the shop with a large black machete and shouted: “Just give me what you’ve got.”

One staff member stood up from her desk and pleaded with King, saying: “I’ve got young children.”

King told her: “Give me everything you’ve got. I’m not going to hurt you.”

As he fled the premises with a bag full of US dollars, Euros and sterling, King warned staff: “Don’t phone the police. Wait five minutes.”

He then made off in a Vauxhall Astra he had bought just days earlier on Facebook Marketplace.

Police were able to obtain the car’s registration from CCTV.

Prosecutor Derick Nelson said: “Police attended at the home of the registered keeper and discovered he had sold it on Gumtree.

“It was then sold on and eventually bought on January 15 by the accused who said he was Aidan from Barrhead. He paid £450 for it and drove it away.”

The court heard that King in the days after the robbery tried to change Euros and US dollars into pounds.

On February 5, police went to King’s home and during a search recovered a white envelope containing four types of currency and a black machete.

King, who appeared in court via a video link from prison, has five previous convictions for crimes of violence and robbery.

Judge Lord Matthews told King: “I am calling for a risk assessment. You present somewhat of a risk to the public.”

He deferred sentence on King until September.

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