A 25-year-old man from Brent has been jailed for almost two years as part of a gang who intercepted deliveries of gold bullion that were traced using a cyber hack.

Joshua Wilkins was one of four people sentenced for stealing or attempting to steal six packages of the valuable metal valued at over £80,000.

One member of the gang hacked a gold bullion trading company's computer system to find the addresses of customers.

Others would then intercept the parcels as they were posted to the victims' homes.

'The importance of cyber security'

Detective Inspector Sanjiv Gohil, of the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit, said: “This case highlights the importance of robust cyber security systems for businesses and particularly those with an online presence.

“In this case the breach was reported to the police and we were able to investigate.”

Wilkins, of Burns Road in Stonebridge , was jailed for 22 months at Kingston Crown Court for conspiracy to steal.

He was jailed alongside Adam Penny, of West Tower, Pan Peninsula Square in Canay Wharf, who received five years and four months in prison.

The 25-year-old Penny was convicted of conspiracy to steal, unauthorised access to a computer and blackmail.

Hacked data helped thieves

Members of the gang would travel to the victims' addresses and wait for the gold delivery to arrive, and then using hacked information would intercept and steal the package before it was delivered.

Stolen gold was then sold to an unsuspecting jeweller in London.

On one occasion they travelled from London to an address in Newcastle where they failed to steal the delivery as the postman knew the victim, and would not hand over the parcel.

Gold firm was blackmailed

Penny had also tried to blackmail the firm and demanded £50,000.

After his arrest investigating officers found six iPhones and two MacBooks – one of which was hidden in a toilet cistern – containing evidence of the blackmail demands and instructions for the interceptors.

He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and computer misuse with intent at the same court on April 1.

Among the other members of the gang sentenced for conspiracy to steal was Nour Mansouri, 24, of Hanley Road N4 who was sentenced to 200 hours community service and ordered to pay £1,000.

Daniel William Rabbitte, 25, of Stanley Road, Hornchurch in Essex, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years for conspiracy to steal.