Just days after MailOnline revealed that Kenny Noye had been ticketed for speeding, he was seen driving a flashy new automobile worth about £50,000.
Despite leading an apparently modest life in a one bedroom apartment in Sevenoaks, Kent, the double murderer drives a brand-new black Mercedes GLC 220D luxury four-wheel drive.
Even though he is a retiree without a job, Noye, 75, who served 21 years in prison for killing Stephen Cameron on the M25, seemed to be able to buy the car with a top speed of 134 mph.
In 1983, a £26 million Brink’s-Mat raid at Heathrow resulted in the theft of gold bullion by a former mobster who had also previously fatally killed an undercover police officer. He was found guilty of handling that gold in 1986.
11 bullion bars were discovered at his former residence, but the majority of the stolen gold was never found.
For his part in the infamous theft, he received a 14-year sentence, a £500,000 fine, and an additional £200,000 in expenses. He also served eight years in prison.
Mercedes lists its base GLC 220d vehicles on its website for £49,465, but buyers must fork up extra money for higher-spec models.
It’s believed that Noye’s previous black VW Tiguan sports utility vehicle was replaced by the automatic diesel model, which has a top speed of 134 mph.
Noye’s financial situation is still a mystery, and it’s unclear how he supports his way of life.
He is eligible for a state pension in the UK worth up to £185.15 per week as a pensioner, but he would only receive the full amount if he had paid into the system for 30 years.
Due to the fact that Noye spent almost 30 years in prison, it is unknown how much NI would have earned during his career.
He qualified for a £46 “discharge grant” when he was released from prison in June 2019.
This one-time payment from the government is intended to assist freed inmates with their initial subsistence expenses, including travel and food. Since then, it has risen to £76.
Noye was caught speeding in his VW Tiguan on the A225 in Otford, Kent, on February 25 at 47 mph in a 40 mph zone, according to information published by MailOnline last week.
He was offered the option of attending a speed awareness course or have three points added to his driving record.
Noye is thought to have chosen the course because it included a lesson on the risks associated with road rage.
In 1985, Noye discovered DC John Fordham hidden in the grounds of his 20-acre estate in West Kingsdown, Kent, and stabbed him ten times.
When Noye was suspected of handling gold bullion from the Brink’s-Mat raid, the officer was keeping an eye on him.
Charged with DC Fordham’s murder were Noye and Brian Reader, who later rose to renown as the brains behind the Hatton Garden jewellery robbery in 2015.
However, an Old Bailey jury found the two not guilty when Noye asserted that he had acted in self-defense because he had feared being attacked.
After being freed from jail, Noye was on parole when he lost his composure and stabbed Stephen Cameron, 21, in a roadside altercation on a slip lane of the M25 in Swanley, Kent. Noye was eventually found guilty of handling some of the stolen gold.
He escaped the country in a private plane given by his late friend John Palmer from the Brink’s-Mat team, and he ultimately made his way to southern Spain, where he was apprehended in August 1998.
Noye was apprehended after Stephen’s girlfriend Danielle Cable, who saw the murder, was brought covertly to the scene by British police and recognised him there. She is still in a witness protection programme.
In May 1999, he was returned to Britain by extradition, and the following year, Danielle bravely testified against him in the Old Bailey.
Noye was sentenced to life in prison for murder and given a minimum 16-year sentence, however he was released from prison in June 2019.
One of his parole requirements includes a warning not to break the law or associate with those who had a criminal past.
Last October, MailOnline reported that Noye had become close friends with gorgeous grandma Michelle Budd, 48, who calls herself a “hippy chick” and provides therapeutic horse hugs for kids.
According to sources, he met the divorced mother-of-three close to her Kent home at a roadside hamburger stand.
Noye was later spotted visiting her home and driving around the countryside with her, taking in cosy trips to local pubs.
MailOnline told how he had even turned up at her stables near Dartford where she introduces groups of young children to her horses, helping many with anxiety or emotional problems.
The blossoming friendship between the unlikely pair shocked many friends of horse lover Mrs Budd who were disturbed about Noye’s criminal past.
He is said to have simply introduced himself as ‘Ken’ when he met her 18-year-old son.
Noye is separated from his wife Brenda Tremain, with whom he has two adult sons, Kevin and Brett.
He was reported in October 2020 to be back with his former love Karen Bricker-Jones, a businesswoman he first dated 40 years previously before he was jailed.
He was said to be dividing his time between mother-of-three Karen’s smart mock Tudor four-bedroom home in Surrey and his bachelor flat in Kent following his release from prison.
Neighbours saw him carrying her food shopping and putting out the bins while staying at her property
Privately-educated Karen, 59, was said to have regularly visited Noye in jail while he was serving his murder sentence.
Mrs Budd who has two grandchildren describes herself in online posts as an Equine learning coach and a qualified physical education teacher.
She is the owner and founder of the Kent Equine Facilitated Learning Centre, a community interest company which promotes ‘relaxation through horse care’.
Mrs Budd’s therapy sessions are said to help children by ‘connecting with nature, managing emotions, and natural crafts.’
The website for her stables is full of pictures of children stroking and patting horses.
She is said to offer ‘help for people looking for answers support with relationships, work, progress, acceptance, forgiveness, trauma addicts and autistic children.’
A friend of Mrs Budd told MailOnline last October: ‘She is all about peace and love and calls herself a “Hippy Chick” on Facebook.
‘She does have a gentle and caring nature. It is all about being kind and reaching into your inner self. But Noye is evil, nasty and violent and has killed two people.
‘It is hard for us as friends to see them together. They are like chalk and cheese when it comes to their individual personalities. She is a kind person who cares for the children she helps.’
Mrs Budd denied she was in a relationship with Noye when questioned by MailOnline last year.
When she was initially approached, she said: ‘I don’t know what you are talking about mate.’
Later she said: ‘I do know him. He is a family friend.’ But she added: ‘I have no comment to make mate. It’s news to me. I am a bit flabbergasted to be fair.’
Asked how the fact that he had killed two people sat with a woman who described herself as a hippy, she added: ‘I have no comment to make.’