Smash And Grab Raiders Jailed For 64 Years

Seven men have been jailed for a total of 64 years after a spate of smash and grab raids in the capital stretching back to 2007.

Reece Dunford, who was involved in every robbery, was jailed for 12 years at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court after pleading guilty to a series of counts.

Six other gang members were jailed for a total of more than 50 years their parts in some of the raids.

CCTV of one raid showed the gang, wearing burkas, smashing glass cabinets at Selfridges with sledgehammers and axes to steal watches worth £1.5m

The gang members were photographed arriving at the Oxford Street department store in central London on the back of motorcycles.

Dunford, from Essex, built up a reputation for handling high-value stolen goods and selling them on to buyers, including Hatton Garden jeweller Yair Cohen, 71, from Hackney.

Police said Dunford believed he was untouchable.

The 31-year-old was caught after hand-picking a team of four to carry out a raid on jewellers Mappin and Webb in the City of London in April last year during which £300,000 worth of Rolex watches was stolen.

Detective Constable Kevin Parley said: "We waited for the people who had committed the offences to take the watches to Mr Dunford and once he had received them, we went into the premises when Mr Cohen, his handler, had come to collect them, and it was absolute shock on their faces when we went in mob handed to catch them there with the watches.

"We are delighted we got them back because we could put an end to this crime and what these guys were doing and making a substantial amount of money."

Other raids by the gang included two at Prada in Old Bond Street in 2013 when £20,000 of handbags were stolen, another at Jimmy Choo in 2014 when £22,000 worth of handbags was taken and one at Alexander McQueen's warehouse in Islington in November 2007 involving the theft of laptops, clothing and handbags worth £50,000.

Four of the gang were found guilty on Friday 3 July for their part in the robberies, while five others had already pleaded guilty to their involvement.

The other gang members' sentences, according to the Met Police, were:

:: Yair Cohen, 71, of Hackney, received six years after being found guilty of three counts of handling stolen goods, one count of converting criminal property and one count of money laundering and another.

:: Vincent Kamara, 28, of Camden, got a 12-year sentence for his part in the Mappin and Webb heist.

:: Patrick Spencer O'Brien, 23, from Islington, was handed 12 years for conspiracy to commit robbery at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower Hotel.

:: Boz Burbridge, 31, of Camden, was jailed for seven years for conspiracy to rob Mappin and Webb.

:: David Mays, 33, of Bexley, was sent to prison for eight years for conspiracy to rob Mappin and Webb.

:: Danny St Luce, 29, of Islington, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the Mappin and Webb robbery.

The sentencing of Rusudan Kritcheli, who was found guilty of converting criminal property and one count of money laundering and Dunford's girlfriend Hollie Dowding, who pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, was adjourned to 19 August.