Prolific shop raid thieves caught at hideout

Members of ‘organised’ robbery gang are snared after three-year run of raids

Friday, 5th September — By Geoffrey Sawyer

CCTV of shop thieves in action

CCTV of the thieves in action

IT sounds like the ending of a movie, a team of detectives finally rumbling the bad guys and setting up a final sting to take them to jail.

Details of how members of an “organised” robbery gang were snared were released as four were handed lengthy prison terms for a prolific series of burglaries across north London.

The thieves had a three-year run of raiding around 100 commercial premises by cutting through shutters at night, grabbing expensive goods and then disappearing in stolen high-powered cars.

Thirty-five corner shops were hit, as well as electronics shops and a department store.They then turned their attentions south of the river to target jewellery stores.

The planning involved careful hiding of the stolen goods, which were put in isolated areas in churchyards to avoid detection.

But the game was up in January when officers followed suspects to a barn in Waltham Abbey.

With the secret hideout discovered, the Flying Squad lay in wait and had the handcuffs ready when two of the burglars arrived there after a hit on a north London shop selling expensive electrical items. They had been unaware that police had discovered their storage centre.

Silverware found at one of the gang’s home

The arrests saw the operation break down and two other members were brought in.

Scott Logan, 36, from Archway and Sachon Morgan, 33, had angle grinders and super-speed electric bikes when they were held by police.

Mr Logan has begun a sentence of six years and nine months for conspiracy to commit burglary and handling stolen goods.

Scott Bennett, 38, arrested later, was found with £80,000 of pinched silverware. He claimed he had been paid to store it and was not part of the raids.

Lewis Northover, 31, was the fourth member to be prosecuted.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, of the Met’s Flying Squad, who led the investigation, said: “Northover, Logan, Bennett and Morgan were part of an organised criminal network who horrified shopkeepers and communities with a series of raids.

“They thought that acting quickly and escaping in high-powered vehicles meant that they were above the law. They were wrong.”

He added: “Officers tracked them down through diligent forensic work, digging through CCTV and carrying out surveillance.

“Their hard work shows how the force is taking the fight to criminal gangs and committed to supporting the local communities they intimidate and threaten.”

Detectives believe the true number of offences is likely to be higher than the 100 burglaries cited.

All of the defendants pleaded guilty.

“We know being a victim of burglary can be incredibly distressing and we remain focused on targeting offenders and providing advice to victims, as well as reviewing crime reports to spot patterns of offending to keep communities safe,” a Met statement said.

“Officers continue to target the most prolific offenders and their work has resulted in a 16 per cent reduction in the number of business robberies reported across London in the last four weeks.”

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