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Police: Cash found in UK heist vanRobbers made off with up to $88M in banknotes
 Police released these sketches of the man they believe abducted the security depot manager. RELATED
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMAIDSTONE, England (CNN) -- Police have searched for clues in a white van containing cash after what is believed to be the largest cash robbery in British history, police say. In the armed robbery Wednesday at a security depot in the county of Kent, about 30 miles southeast of London, thieves made off with at least 25 million pounds ($44 million), and possibly as much as 50 million pounds ($88 million), authorities said. The robbers first abducted the depot manager, his wife and their 9-year-old son, releasing them after the manager had been forced to let them into the facility, authorities said. (Watch as police investigate the crime -- 2:04) Police had said a white truck was used to cart off much of the cash. On Friday, a white Ford transit van was found at the Ashford International Hotel, police said. "We can confirm a quantity of cash has been found in the vehicle, but it is too early to speculate on how much," Kent police said in a written statement. "We are linking this to Wednesday's robbery at the Securitas depot in Tonbridge, but we cannot say yet how significant the find is." Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Leppard said it could take "many hours," and potentially the entire day Saturday, to "establish what exactly is in that van." Police also released on bail three people who were questioned in the probe. Authorities are offering a 2 million pound ($3.5 million) reward for information leading to the "professional organized gangsters" who committed the robbery. Police have received more than 400 phone calls on a hotline set up for the investigation, said Leppard, who is leading the investigation. The three people questioned include a 29-year-old man arrested at an address in Forest Hill, south London; a 31-year-old woman arrested at another address in Forest Hill; and a 41-year-old woman arrested in Bromley, southeast London, the police statement said. All three were arrested Thursday. Earlier, police said the 41-year-old woman was arrested trying to deposit 6,000 pounds (about $10,500) wrapped in tape marked "Tonbridge." Police also released sketches of a suspect, and said they had recovered a van and two other cars believed to have been used in the raid. "We know for a fact that this is organized crime at its top level," said Leppard. "This is planned and executed with military precision." Colin Dixon, 51, a manager at the Securitas depot, said he left work around 6 p.m. Tuesday and, as he was driving home, was flagged down by two men in a blue Volvo. "He thought they were police officers and he got into their car," Leppard said. At about the same time, a few miles away, two other men, also posing as police, knocked on Dixon's front door and took captive his wife, Lynn, 45, and son, Craig. "This is the most traumatic part of this crime for me -- a young woman and her young son, a 9-year-old son, were held at gunpoint for up to six hours and driven around," Leppard said. About two hours later, around 8 p.m., the family was reunited in another car and told that they would be killed if they didn't cooperate, police said. About 1 a.m., they were taken to the cash depot with a gun to Colin Dixon's head, he told police. He said he let at least six masked gunmen inside, where they overpowered 14 Securitas employees. No one was wounded. A white truck was at the ready. "It was loaded up with cash," Leppard said. Authorities said the money weighed at least 2 tons -- so much that the robbers couldn't take it all. Authorities said they still were trying to determine exactly how much money was taken. Vehicle linksPolice said they believe a van found abandoned at a pub may have been used in the abductions. The van is believed to have formerly been used by Parceforce, a shipping company. Kent Police said a Volvo thought to have been used by the gang was found burning in Burberry Lane in the village of Leeds near Maidstone Thursday night. The depot manager's car, a silver Nissan Almera, has also been located. It was found Thursday night parked at the Cock Horse pub at Detling. Crime scenes investigators have begun the detailed task of examining the cars for clues. In a statement accompanying the sketches of the person thought to have abducted the depot manager, Kent police said, "The gang member who posed as a police officer wore a police style cap and high visibility jacket." "He's described as white, 6 feet to 6 feet 1 inch tall, with a scruffy ginger beard that was 'wiry and wispy' and could have been false, because distinctively his hair is thought to be a different color. "The man also had freckles on his cheeks and dark eyebrows. "A police expert worked with the depot manager to compile the image." The cash depot is run by Sweden's Securitas AB, one of the world's largest security firms. In Great Britain, it conducts such services for businesses and government agencies, including the Bank of England. Britain's previous biggest cash theft occurred in 2004, when 26.5 million pounds (about $46 million) was taken from the Northern Bank's Belfast headquarters. 
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