Duo jailed for snatching 72 phones from London commuters during rush hour

A brazen duo have been jailed for snatching 72 phones from London commuters during the morning rush hour.

Randy Kavungu, 21, and Darius James, 22, targeted people walking alone or standing on pavements aiming to steal as many phones as they could carry.

The pair targeted central and north London in a six-week robbing spree, throwing coffee in one victim's face, breaking a person's finger and threatening a witness with a hammer.

They tried to evade police by hiding the number plate but were caught by special patrols, CCTV and witness statements.

"Kavungu and James set out with a pre-agreed plan to steal the phones of as many people as they could, using a moped to target lone victims in open spaces," said Detective Inspector Alan Biggs.

"They had no regard for the harm they could have caused by their dangerous driving and it is only by extreme fortune that no-one was more seriously injured.

"We were determined to catch these two suspects who were causing so much harm within our city.

"Our investigation involved examining hundreds of hours of CCTV as well as complex mobile phone analysis and we are pleased this means they will now be off our streets and unable to commit further offences for a long time," he added.

At Kavungu’s address, officers found a blue Nike jacket and a black helmet, the same as those seen worn in CCTV.

A black puffer jacket, also worn by one of the suspects on various days, was found at James’ address.

Detective Chief Superintendent Lee Hill said: "Our Operation Venice team was set up in direct response to a spike in moped-enabled robberies and as this case demonstrates, they have been working ever since to target repeat offenders and linked series of offending across the capital."

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