AN undercover US cop who nailed the sex fiend plotting to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby has told for the first time how smashing the case marked “a good day”.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, the officer revealed he was unaware of the TV star’s fame when he rumbled security guard Gavin Plumb’s sick plan to kill her.
But he quickly pieced together her identity and enough evidence to inform the FBI of the deadly scheme — and snare the “dangerous” man behind it.
It came as the detective, who cannot be named due to the nature of his work, was hailed by law enforcement chiefs for his “brilliant” sleuthing skills after he caught Plumb conspiring to snatch Holly in an on-line chatroom called “Abduct lovers”.
As the obese loner, 37, was sentenced to life behind bars for his horrifying crime on Friday, the cop — who used the alias David Nelson in court — said: “Any time we can identify, disrupt and destroy a plot is a good day.
“Early on in the investigation, Plumb had identified Ms Willoughby by name. Open source information was obtained and we were initially unaware of her job and position within the media.”
Mum of three Holly, 43, quit ITV’s This Morning last October when the plot came to light.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court heard the impact of the vile threats on the TV beauty had been “life-changing”.
Owatonna police chief Jeff Mundale has praised his undercover officer for the role he played in “saving lives and preventing future victimisation of others”.
In a statement about Holly’s ordeal, he revealed: “Last October, a detective working online in an undercover capacity became aware of a plot to kidnap, sexually assault and murder London TV personality Holly Willoughby.
“Our detective, utilising an alias of David Nelson, recognised this as a credible and immediate, active threat to her life, and worked swiftly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Minneapolis, as well as the London Metropolitan Police and Essex Police to intervene.
“Our detective was confident that this offender fully intended to carry out his plans. This detective focuses on cases involving sex trafficking of minors, murder and rape for hire, as well as illegal transactions involving firearms and ammunition.
“We are fortunate to have a detective who is proficient in such online investigations and continues to demonstrate impressive skills in finding and engaging in chats where these activities are being discussed.
“In my 29 years of serving law enforcement, I’ve never seen such a skilled detective engaging in this sort of work. It’s certainly impressive.”
Police chief Mundale revealed it took the dedicated officer just two days of messaging and building trust to obtain enough details to report Plumb to the FBI and British police.
Any time we can identify, disrupt and destroy a plot is a good day
Undercover cop
The detective said that the brute planned to grab Holly in a “home invasion, use chloroform he purchased and leave with the victim in her vehicle”.
And he said Plumb, from Harlow, Essex, “planned to sexually assault the target and to kill her and dispose of her body”.
Police chief Mundale revealed his detective had used more than a dozen aliases since 2017 to monitor the darkest corners of the internet.
Incredibly, this kind of work is not even the detective’s full-time job but he does it to have a greater impact, chief Mundale said.
“This detective has that knack to build trust, relationships and kind of communicate at their level, and be willing to help them ‘achieve’ their goals and their fantasies,” he said.
“I’m nothing but proud of our agency, particularly this detective, who was able to foil the case. His work is nothing but fantastic.”
The detective said his experience as a street cop had served him well.
He added: “Working the street, being real with people and bonding with your community is a chance to hone those skills. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the gift of gab.”
It doesn’t hurt to have the gift of gab
Undercover cop
The Owatonna Police department has an annual budget of around £4million.
By comparison, the Met has a budget of £3.5billion.
Plumb’s trial heard the 30st monster, who had put together a “kidnap kit”, sent vile messages to potential accomplices urging them to join him in his plot.
He outlined plans to seize Holly and take her to an abandoned building, where she would be raped and have her throat slit, before her body was disposed of in a lake.
Police chief Mundale added: “They did a lot of homework and research on the intended victim. Knew where the victim lived, her route to work.”
It emerged that obsessed Plumb had amassed 10,000 images of the blonde TV star on his mobile phone.
Sentencing him to a minimum term of 15 years in prison, judge Mr Justice Murray said he had “carefully read” Holly’s impact statement.
He added: “I am satisfied these offences had life-changing consequences for her, both privately and professionally.”
The judge praised Holly’s “considerable courage” in waiving her right to anonymity in the case.
He also revealed he had no doubt Plumb’s plans for the star were “considerably more than a fantasy”, as the defendant had claimed.
But he told Plumb his scheme was “hopelessly unrealistic for several reasons”, including his “gross obesity”.
The judge added: “Although you talked about carrying out the plan on your own, I am sure that this was simply bravado.
“You always intended to carry out your plan to kidnap, rape and kill Ms Willoughby. But only if you could find the right man or men — the right ‘crew’ as you sometimes called it — to help you do it.”
Holly had fronted This Morning for 14 years before she stepped down following Plumb’s arrest.
She has subsequently signed a lucrative deal with Netflix.
