Balaclava-gang punched phone shop staff to steal £150k of devices

Several members of a balaclava-clad gang which punched phone shop staff to rob £150,000 of devices have been convicted. Three men, including a semi-professional footballer and a teenage boy, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery. This brings the total number of people convicted in the Met Police’s investigation up to 10. The gang targeted phone shops like O2 and Three across London between May 28 and June 9 last year. The gang members stole from phone shops dressed in dark clothing and balaclavasMetropolitan PoliceThey were spotted- dressed in dark clothing, balaclavas, and gloves - forcing access into storerooms and safes as they threatened staff and stole thousands of pounds of goods. The thieves were able to collect £150,000 worth of devices from stores across Lewisham, Woolwich, Wood Green, Haringey, Sutton, and Colliers Wood. Read MoreThe court heard how one gang member was abusive to staff members during a robbery at a Three store in Lewisham on May 28. He told one staff member: “We should’ve brought shanks,” while another gang member punched the arm of a customer who tried to intervene. Another gang member punched a female staff member in the chest to force her to open the store room during a robbery of an O2 store in Colliers Wood on June 7 last year. Members of the group seen on CCTV breaking into storerooms to steal devicesMetropolitan PoliceThe Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad launched a covert surveillance operation to capture the thieves, swooping in on a gang as they attempted to raid an O2 shop in Sutton last year. The court heard that during this robbery, a gang member told an employee to open a door or he would hit them. Prosecutors said the robberies left staff members “traumatised” and resulted in a minimum of £128,000 of stolen phones, with the likely total around £150,000.The primary organiser of the conspiracy was a man with the Snapchat username of “Loco” who arranged the robberies, the court was told.Judge Antony Dunne said the offences were “carefully planned robberies by an organised and professional group” who messaged on Snapchat to plan the offences.Sammie Govera, 32, who played a “leading role” in the robberies – despite not being the primary organiser, was sentenced to 13 years and six months’ imprisonment.The court heard Govera, of the Redlands, Newport, sent a message promising rewards to drivers before a robbery, writing: “If da man dem bang this nice tomorrow I’m gonna cop a whip for any driver available for next ones in future.”Judge Dunne said Govera was “supervising young participants in the robberies”, telling him: “You were one of the adults who exploited the young participants.”Mitigating for Govera, Michael Newport said he had a “childhood marked by trauma” and his offending was “driven by entrenched substance use”.The Met’s Flying Squad made arrests after a covert surveillance operationMetropolitan PoliceKevlin Duarte, 20, of Durell Road, Dagenham, was sentenced to 22 months’ detention in a young offenders’ institution.Mitigating for Duarte, Keith Hadrill said he had “fallen out with his family and was sofa surfing” and “followed the others like a fool”.Louis Pandanzyla, 19, of Clarence Avenue, Upminster, was sentenced to a community order for 18 months including unpaid work of 150 hours.Judge Dunne said Pandanzyla, who committed the offences when he was 17, was “exploited by older men”.Mitigating for Pandanzyla, Catherine Rose said his offending was part of a “phase” and “children like Louis are big enough to look like an adult, but not mature enough to think like an adult”.She added that he was now working as a PE teacher and playing semi-professional football for Beckenham Town FC.The judge told him: “You appear to have a bright future ahead of you and I urge you to take that.”A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to a one-year youth rehabilitation order with intensive supervision.The court heard that the boy had been “exploited” by older gang members and had a background of poverty and bereavement including “finding his sister dead from black mould in his house”.Getaway driver Saleem Ramzan, 50, could not be sentenced as he died on February 27 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.O2 employed additional security guards and introduced a system of locking front doors with a one-in-one-out entry policy resulting in “lost trade and additional costs” following the robberies, the court heard.Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These criminals thought they could terrorise shop staff, steal phones and vanish without a trace. They were wrong.“Our detectives worked quickly, piecing together CCTV, phone data and forensic evidence to catch them.“Commercial robberies across London are down 13 per cent because of our relentless focus on pursuing and arresting those responsible.“Let this serve as a warning: if you commit robbery in London, we will find you and bring you to justice.”In September, officers arrested more than 700 suspects and recovered hundreds of suspected stolen phones as part of the Met's largest-ever crackdown on phone theft. Local policing teams and specialist units targeted hotspot locations across London, using tactics including drones, high-powered e-bikes and live facial recognition technology to identify and apprehend offenders.