Armed ‘EasyCash’ moped gang face jail for breaking into 17 shops across London

A gang of armed robbers on mopeds are facing jail terms for a shocking string of burglaries in phone shops around London.

Calling themselves the ‘EasyCash Gang’, the men targeted a staggering 17 Three Mobile outlets, breaking into shops to steal handsets.

They carried a gun, knives, hammers and a battering ram to trash the shops and beat up any security guards on duty at the time.

Their tally of tablets and phones and the damage they caused to the shops is thought to have exceeded £1 million.

Two members of the gang, Bobby Kennedy and Chris Costi, have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Alfie Kennedy, 20, Dylan Castano-Lopez, 19, and Adam Atallah, 21, have all previously pleaded guilty to their part in the conspiracy.

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The older Kennedy brother had previously been jailed for similar offences, and joined the gang, which was also known as the EC, just two weeks after being released last September.

In one brazen raid at the Three store in Oxford Street, at 2.40am one of the raiders threatened a member of the public with a gun, while the others smashed their way into the store and stole dozens of devices worth £20,000.

The phones, which were stolen in the early hours of the morning, were then sold to shops including the Shuttleworth Hostel in Hackney, from where they would be sold abroad for just below market value.

They were eventually caught after Three placed trackers in dummy phones that were then stolen, revealing their movements.

Kennedy admitted involvement in one raid after being caught by police at the scene, but denied he knew weapons were involved or taking part in any other burglaries.

Kennedy, of no fixed address and Costi, of Hackney, east London, had denied one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

They will be sentenced with Alfie Kennedy, Castano-Lopez and Atallah following a further trial involving other alleged gang members in October.