Balaclava gang jailed for £150k phone shop robberies across London
Ten people convicted after a Met Flying Squad operation caught a gang targeting O2 and Three stores. Sentences range from a community order to 13 years.
Ten convicted after balaclava gang raided phone shops across London
A gang that robbed phone shops across London of £150,000 worth of devices — threatening staff, punching customers and forcing open storerooms — has been brought to justice, the Evening Standard reports, with the total number of convictions in the Metropolitan Police's investigation now reaching ten.
Three further members of the group, including a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named and a teenager who has since taken up semi-professional football, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery.
The gang operated between 28 May and 9 June last year, targeting O2 and Three stores in Lewisham, Woolwich, Wood Green, Haringey, Sutton and Colliers Wood. Members arrived dressed in dark clothing, balaclavas and gloves, forcing access to storerooms and safes while threatening staff.
During a robbery at a Three store in Lewisham on 28 May, one gang member told a staff member: "We should've brought shanks." Another punched a customer who attempted to intervene. At an O2 store in Colliers Wood on 7 June, a female staff member was punched in the chest to make her open the storeroom.
Prosecutors told the court the robberies left staff "traumatised" and resulted in a minimum of £128,000 in stolen phones, with the likely total around £150,000.
The primary organiser of the conspiracy communicated via Snapchat under the username "Loco", using the platform to coordinate the raids. Judge Antony Dunne described the offences as "carefully planned robberies by an organised and professional group."
The Met's Flying Squad launched a covert surveillance operation and intercepted the gang mid-raid as they attempted to rob an O2 shop in Sutton. During that robbery, a gang member warned an employee to open a door or face violence.
Sentences handed down
Sammie Govera, 32, of the Redlands, Newport, was sentenced to 13 years and six months' imprisonment. The court heard he played a "leading role" in the robberies — directing other participants and promising rewards to drivers, writing on Snapchat: "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 told Govera: "You were one of the adults who exploited the young participants." His defence counsel, Michael Newport, said Govera had a "childhood marked by trauma" and that his offending was "driven by entrenched substance use."
Kevlin Duarte, 20, of Durell Road, Dagenham, was sentenced to 22 months' detention in a young offenders' institution. His barrister Keith Hadrill said Duarte had "fallen out with his family and was sofa surfing" at the time and had "followed the others like a fool."
Louis Pandanzyla, 19, of Clarence Avenue, Upminster, received an 18-month community order including 150 hours of unpaid work. He committed the offences at the age of 17. Judge Dunne said he had been "exploited by older men." His defence counsel Catherine Rose described the offending as part of a "phase," adding that "children like Louis are big enough to look like an adult, but not mature enough to think like an adult." Rose told the court Pandanzyla is now working as a PE teacher and plays 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."
The 17-year-old boy was sentenced to a one-year youth rehabilitation order with intensive supervision. The court heard he 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 — he died on 27 February of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Impact on businesses and police response
O2 introduced new security measures following the robberies, including additional guards and a one-in-one-out door-locking policy, which the court heard resulted in "lost trade and additional costs."
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."
Hillier added that commercial robberies across London are down 13 per cent, attributing the fall to the Flying Squad's sustained focus on arrests. "Let this serve as a warning: if you commit robbery in London, we will find you and bring you to justice," she said.
In September, officers arrested more than 700 suspects and recovered hundreds of suspected stolen phones as part of what the Met described as its largest-ever crackdown on phone theft, deploying drones, high-powered e-bikes and live facial recognition technology across hotspot locations.
Source: Evening Standard