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His full name is Lee Brahim Murray-Lamrani, an English Mixed Martial Arts fighter, robber, and drug dealer who was born in South Eastern London to a Moroccan father and a British hairdresser.
On July the 2nd, sports media Bloody Elbow published an interview author and sports reporter Elliot Worsell conducted with the 40-year-old UFC middleweight, held in Morocco since 2006.
Lightning Lee Murray spoke candidly about the 12 years he spent in the Tifelt local prison, in northwestern Morocco. He opened up about how much he missed his family, fighting and freedom.
«Spending time with my family and trying to catch up on some of the time that has been lost», wrote Murray, answering a Worsell question on freedom.
Sentenced to 25 years in prison, Lee Murray, and before embracing his long-awaited freedom, has to serve 13 other years in a Tifelt cell. Winning eight of his 12 MMA fights, the brilliant fighter had made headlines for years. Everybody spoke about the Greenwich-born Murray who masterminded England’s largest cash robbery.
The day Lee Murray was arrested in Rabat./Ph. DR
A troubled background
Years before becoming one of England’s most wanted bank robber, young Lee Brahim lived a difficult childhood back in Kent, a county that borders Greater London. His parents met in Gran Canaria and Lee was their first child.
Born in England, the fighter spent the first seven years of his life away from his father Brahim Lamrani who married his mother Barbara Murray and joined the family in 1984. The Moroccan father was described as «violent» and «alcoholic», the thing Lee did not like and tried to fight back.
In his neighborhood and at school, Lee Murray was the teenager everybody was avoiding. At an early age he was member of a boy gang called the «Buttmarch boys». Alongside his long-time partner-in-crime Paul Allen, Murray got involved in many criminal activities, selling drugs, and planning robberies.
He was convicted for the first time as a minor for possessing cocaine and Marijuana, after becoming notorious for leading a thug life. Murray’s suspicious activities did not stop there even when he started hitting the gym and taking his career as fighter more seriously.
The MMA fighter and robber
In a portrait, tracing back his story, ESPN wrote that Murray «grew as a cage fighter, the cagier he got about his private life». Before performing the notorious robbery, he was secretive, leading a double theft life.
Speaking to the same source, a fight writer revealed that when he «went to one of Murray's fights once, [he] was warned by one of his crowd, 'Don't ask too much about Lee».
Lee Murray wearing a hannibal mask at a fight./Ph. DR
Although he couldn’t make much money from fighting, Murray was able to buy his wife and daughter a house in one of London’s fanciest areas. «Lee had his fingers in a lot of pies that interested the police», MMA fellow fighter Mark Epstein told ESPN.
«I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things in my past and really see where I went wrong in life», Lee Murray told Worssel in his recent interview. In his Tifelt cell, the father is still chasing the dream prison took away from him 12 years ago.
«I still have that dream of being the UFC champion. That dream will never go all the time I’m breathing air. The biggest disappointment for me is that the dream would have come true if I wasn’t in prison. That’s the most gutting thing about it».
Indeed, that February 2006 robbery was a turning point in Lee’s life. Accused of plotting the Securitas depot robbery, Lee was convicted to 10 years in prison in 2010 after his arrest in Rabat.
In a 2010 Guardian article, it was announced that Lee Murray «fled to north Africa four days after the gang got away with £53m in a robbery on a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent in 2006».
Determined to fight again
Seeking Moroccan nationality, he managed to avoid extradition to the UK where he alongside several men kidnapped and threatened the family of Securitas depot’s manager.
On the 25th of June, Murray was arrested in a joint raid the Moroccan and British police masterminded in 2006. «Since then UK detectives have worked closely with their overseas colleagues to ensure Murray does not escape justice», wrote the Guardian, indicating that «he has been held in prison since his arrest at a shopping centre several months after the raid and has already served time for drug-related offences».
Four years after his arrest, the MMA fighter’s 10-year-sentence was extended to 25. «There’s no happiness where I am», he said describing the Tifelt prison. «But I suppose I can say I’m happy I’m still alive (…) There have been times when I’ve been sitting in a room next to people with multiple death sentences and it’s then your problem seems very small», he unexpectedly stated.
The Moroccan-British inmate, and despite all, can still see the light at the end of the tunnel. He wants to get back on track once stepping out of that prison. Asked to describe his typical day, Lee proudly told Bloody Elbow’s reporter : «I can’t describe to you what a typical day in my life is like. But maybe one day I will be able to answer that question for you. You’ll probably fall back in your chair and say to yourself, 'How the f—k did he do it?'».
Now the notorious Greenwich kid spends his days training, getting ready for the day he will be declared a free man. «I train. That’s all you can do. I train and try to get as fit and strong as possible, so I’m always ready to fight», said the determined prisoner.
