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• Maher was wanted on suspicion of robbing his own Securicor van in 1993
• Spent last two decades 'criss-crossing' America before he was turned in by his daughter-in-law

By Simon Tomlinson

PUBLISHED: 05:40 EST, 5 March 2013 | UPDATED: 05:58 EST, 5 March 2013

A British man who spent almost 20 years as a fugitive in the US has admitted the theft of a security van containing £1.2 million.

Eddie Maher - known as 'Fast Eddie' - was wanted by Suffolk Police after the Securicor van he was driving disappeared from outside the Lloyds Bank in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on January 22 1993.

The 57-year-old, originally from South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, was arrested by US authorities in February last year and held in custody awaiting trial after denying the theft following his deportation.

Now and then: Eddie Maher's mugshot after his arrest in Missouri in February, left, and right: a 'wanted' poster issued after he disappeared in January 1993

Escape vehicle: The Securicor van that Maher was driving when he disappeared from outside the Lloyds Bank in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on January 22 1993

Eddie Maher pictured with his son Lee before the robbery two decades ago

After his conviction, detectives revealed details of a series of property investments they say he funded from the proceeds of the crime.

This included a house in Colorado bought with 120,000 US dollars in cash just six months after the theft.

Later Maher built a ranch on 80 acres in Colorado before moving around various US states.

At the time of his arrest on February 9 last year, he was working as a cable engineer in Missouri.

But his attempts to escape justice unravelled as he was arrested for illegally possessing firearms.

When US authorities contacted their UK counterparts about immigration issues, it became clear he was a wanted man.

Speaking outside court, Detective Inspector David Giles, from Suffolk Police, said: 'Maher said he was forced to carry out this crime and that he only got a small amount of money from it.

'He never named the people who he claimed forced him into it and never put forward a credible story.

Eddie Maher's Securicor van, found dumped and emptied of more than £1 million in 50 bags of cash

Police searching for Maher found his Essex home (above) abandoned

'We have succeeded in proving that he profited substantially from the theft and was a key player in the planning and execution of it.

'Since his arrest, he has displayed no remorse for what he did - but I get the impression he has spent 20 years looking over his shoulder and hoping the law would not catch up with him.'

Ms Brett, 47, Maher's sister Margaret Francis, 64, and a 54-year-old man, from Woodford Green, east London, are all on bail after being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft.

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