Teen moped gang jailed after stealing phones, wallets, handbags and laptops

A gang of teenagers has been jailed after a string of moped robberies where victims were threatened with knives.

The four teenagers, one only 15, rode mopeds to steal phones, wallets, handbags and laptops before speeding off, leaving their victims lying on the floor.

Six scooters were also stolen by the group with four of those taken from their owners by force.

The teenagers also posed up for pictures wearing masks and waving weapons.

Phones, wallets, handbags and laptops were snatched with threats of violence and on some occasions a knife was used.

The gang was caught when police looked at CCTV to track their route around Lambeth, south London, where the stolen vehicles were parked following a robbery on March 9.

Footage showed three scooters following an unsuspecting moped rider, who was then cornered and pulled from his vehicle.

Another clip showed a moped riding along the pavement behind a victim who was then knocked to the ground as their bag was snatched.

One member of the gang, the 15-year-old boy, was arrested by officers as he got on one of the scooters.

At his home they found a mobile phone stolen during a robbery in Westminster, central London, and a pair of bolt cutters.

A warrant was issued for a 16-year-old boy and a search of his bedroom revealed an Oyster card from a robbery on March 6.

He was arrested on his return to the address and his phone was seized, which had pictures of his accomplices wearing masks and clothes described by victims in the crimes.

There was also an image of one of the masked gang in his bedroom holding a knife.

His DNA was also discovered on a scooter found after a theft in January.

This evidence led to 19-year-old woman, Sitey Mairuf, who was found with an Oyster card in her bedroom from a robbery on February 23.

Another accomplice, a 16-year-old boy was found to have the same clothes worn in robberies on March 6 and had sent text messages to the other 16-year-old boy about the stolen scooters.

At Inner London Crown Court on Thursday all four members of the gang were sentenced to a total of more than 13 years in jail.

All of the gang were found guilty of conspiracy to rob and attempted robberies between December 2016 and March 2017 following a four-week trial.

The 15-year-old boy was sentenced to three-and-a-half years and one 16-year-old boy was jailed for four years.

The other 16-year-old boy was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, which is to be served in addition to a six-year prison sentence that boy was already serving.

None of the youngsters could be named for legal reasons.

Mairuf, of Thornton Heath, south London, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for their part in the robberies.