A gang of four teenagers have been jailed for a total of 13 years after a series of moped-enabled robberies in London.

During the four-week trial, Inner London Crown Court heard how the teens, as young as 15, robbed members of the public of phones, wallets, handbags and laptops using violent threats.

The gang even used knives on certain occasions to intimidate their victims, and stole six mopeds which they used in their robberies, four of which were taken from the owners by force.

A 15-year-old gang member was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison at the court on Thursday (November 30) and a 16-year-old boy who was already serving a six-year prison sentence was given an additional three-and-a-half years in prison.

Another 16-year-old was given a four-year sentence.

The youths cannot be named for legal reasons.

Sitey Mairuf, 19, of Colliers Water Lane, Thornton Heath was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

They had been found guilty on November 3 of conspiracy to rob in relation to robberies and attempted robberies from December 2, 2016 to March 9, 2017.

Police used CCTV footage from their last robbery to track the gang's route to where their stolen mopeds were parked, at an address in Lambeth.

They found the 15-year-old gang member getting on one of the scooters and arrested him. A search of his home revealed an mobile phone stolen during a robbery in Westminster and a pair of bolt croppers.

Sitey Mairuf was sentenced to two and a half years in prison

A 16-year-old boy's home address was searched by police, who discovered an Oyster card from a robbery on March 6 and he was arrested.

Police seized and searched his phone, which showed pictures of his gang wearing masks and clothes that matched the victim's descriptions.

They also found a picture of a masked person in his bedroom waving a knife and his DNA was found on a scooter stolen from its owner in January.

Police next searched the home of Sitey Mairuf, who was found to have an Oyster card from a robbery on February 23.

The final accomplice, a 16-year-old boy, was found to have the same clothes as worn in the robberies on March 6 and had messaged the other 16-year-old about their stolen scooters.

Detective Constable Adam Barry said: "Police are working hard to keep the public safe and make the streets hostile territory for criminals who steal scooters, mopeds or motorbikes and then use them to commit crimes.

"These offenders rely on the unwariness of the public to commit their crimes. Therefore it is so important that the public remain vigilant at all times to protect their personal property.

"If anyone sees any suspicious activity or has any information about who is committing these crimes, please call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. In an emergency call 999."

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