MegaMall in Rabat

[Tyson]

LONDON (AFP) - Britain was Monday seeking the extradition of a professional fighter who was arrested in Morocco over the weekend in connection with the biggest cash robbery ever in British history.

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Lee "Lightning" Murray, 26, from Sidcup in south London, was detained in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Sunday over the daring heist four months ago at a Securitas warehouse in Tonbridge, southeast of the British capital.

The robbers made off with a record 53 million pounds (95.4 million dollars, 76.3 million euros).

According to his website, Murray has won eight of his last 11 matches as a cage fighter -- a sport in which contestants trained in a variety of martial arts face off inside a steel cage.

In September last year, he was injured in a fracas involving knives outside the Funky Buddha, a China-themed nightclub in central London, after a 21st birthday party for a tabloid glamour model.

He was arrested Sunday by Moroccan police at the Mega Mall shopping centre in the posh Souissi district of Rabat, along with three others who are not believed to be wanted by British police.

Kent Police's head of serious and major crime, Detective Superintendent Paul Gladstone, said Murray "was arrested for robbery, kidnap and other offences linked to the 53 million pound Securitas raid" on February 22.

"The arrest was made with the authority of the Crown Prosecution Service, Kent Police and the Moroccan authorities," he said. "The man is in custody in Rabat and the United Kingdom is now seeking extradition.

"This latest development is part of our ongoing investigation and our inquiries continue. We remain determined to bring the people behind the robbery to justice."

In Rabat, Moroccan police said the suspect would be extradited on Mondat night.

"A team from Scotland Yard arrived in Rabat on Monday and Lee Murray's extradition is expected in the evening because he is the subject of an international warrant," a police official said.

Announcing the arrest on Sunday, Moroccan police said the heist was "one of the most important thefts in the annals of international criminality," adding that local police had been tracking the suspects for four months.

"Due to the danger posed by the suspects, specialists in martial arts and firearms, Moroccan police had to use special techniques to neutralise them ... without posing a risk to citizens nearby at the time of the arrest," it said.

Gladstone, who is leading the investigation for Kent Police, also revealed Monday that two men -- from Devon and Hampshire, in southwest and southeast England -- had been charged with money laundering.

He could not, however, confirm that their arrest on Friday -- and the recover of a "significant" amount of cash -- was linked to the robbery.

Britain has no formal extradition treaty with Morocco, so it will have to make a special, one-off request. An individual was last extradited from the north African country to Britain in 1995.

Five men and two women have already been charged in connection with the robbery, carried out in the early hours of February 22.

Car dealer John Fowler, 60, of Staplehurst, Kent, has been charged with conspiracy to rob, three counts of kidnapping the depot manager, his wife and son, and handling stolen goods.

Warehouse worker Raluca Millen, 25, of Dudley Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, has been charged with conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to kidnap.

Car salesman Stuart Royle, 47, from Maidstone, Kent, unemployed Jetmir Bucpapa, 25, from Tonbridge, roofer Lea Rusha, 33, from Southborough, near Tunbridge Wells, and Ermir Hysenaj, 26, from Crowborough, East Sussex, have been charged with conspiracy to rob.

Hairdresser Kim Shackleton, 38, from Maidstone, has been charged with handling stolen goods.

They are due to appear at the Old Bailey criminal court in central London on July 10 for a plea and directions hearing.