Police followed the gang members through the Blackwall Tunnel before catching them
A knife-wielding gang of masked men from East London travelled to Kent in convoy to steal a cannabis farm. The thieves, who have now been jailed for 50 years overall, were caught less than an hour later when police caught up with their getaway vehicles and boxed them in.
Police were alerted to the robbery at a home in Weston Road, Strood, when the four gang members were spotted loading cannabis plants into a BMW car and a van before making off at 2.40am on November 25 last year.
Within minutes officers found the BMW and van appearing to travel in convoy suspiciously in Rochester. After 12 miles, the vehicles split up, and police tailed the BMW towards Bexley via the A2. The car was boxed in by attending patrols shortly after passing through the Blackwall Tunnel. Tyrone Harris, 36, Elliott Bonney, 35, and Sion Williams, 38, were arrested at the scene.
The van also went through the Blackwall Tunnel and was pulled over at a red light. Khyrie Hylton, 35, tried to escape but was caught. The BMW and van were found to be full of cannabis plants.
The victim was asleep when the gang broken into his home. They threatened him with a knife and then attacked him, leaving him seriously injured with facial injuries and a fractured wrist. His home was then ransacked.
Harris had sent texts saying he needed “as many soldiers as possible”. Hylton, of no fixed address, was jailed for 12 years. Harris, 36, of Lansdowne Drive, Hackney, was jailed for 14 years.
Bonney, 35, of Albion Drive, Hackney, was locked up for 11 years. Sion Williams, of no fixed address, was jailed for 13 years.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Emma Laimbeer said: “This was a meticulously planned robbery in which a group of men targeted a vulnerable victim in his own home and subjected him to a frightening and violent ordeal.
“Thanks to the immediate response of patrol officers, all four offenders were caught red-handed with the spoils of the robbery.
“The investigation involved meticulously examining CCTV footage, mobile phone data, forensic evidence and witness accounts to build an overwhelming case against those responsible.
“The sentences handed down reflect the seriousness of their actions and demonstrate that those who commit violent offences in Kent can expect to be identified, arrested and brought before the courts.”
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