A gun and sword-wielding gang who frightened staff and customers while robbing Ladbrokes betting shops in Brent and Southall have been jailed.
The gang of six robbed or attempted to rob 10 bookmakers in west London and Hertfordshire in eight months.
They used guns, a hammer and Samurai sword to threaten terrified staff and other people in the betting shops.
While they stole £20,000 in the raids, police tracked them down and they have been jailed for more than 44 years in total.
Officers from the Met’s Flying Squad noticed the robberies were committed in a similar way - the gang had a knowledge of Ladbrokes security procedures and forced staff to open the safes behind the counters and hand over cash.
Detectives identified two female gang members - Diana Holder, from Hayes, and Shannon Roberts, from Queen’s Park - who would lure Ladbrokes employees out from behind the secure counter by asking for help with the gambling machine.
They would then ‘call on’ the robberies, which took place between May 1, 2016 and January 23, 2017 - and other gang members would arrive armed with weapons used to threaten staff.
During a robbery at a Ladbrokes in Brent on December 3, 2016, an employee was hit with a handgun.
In another offence, at a Ladbrokes in Southall on September 15, 2016, a customer and a member of staff had guns pointed to their heads.
Detectives identified the group after they analysed CCTV from Ladbrokes and carried out a proactive surveillance operation.
One of the gang, Demetri Fairweather, worked at a Ladbrokes in Ealing and failed to press his panic alarm despite being told several times to do this by his manager during a robbery on June16, 2016.
Another of member of the group, Johnson Konan, was also an ex-Ladbrokes employee.
Detective Inspector Scott Hartley, of the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “This gang was responsible for a series of frightening armed robberies in which violence and intimidation was used against employees in the bookmakers.
“The crimes were premeditated and the gang members worked as a team to carry out the offences.
“This case shows that anyone found to be involved in the commission of armed robbery offences will be arrested and likely to be given a significant jail sentence.”
Fairweather, 22, of Hatton Road, Wembley, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob after a trial and was sentenced to seven years in prison at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday, October 29.
Three other members of the group, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to possess an imitation firearm were sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court, as follows in July:
Jordan Reid 23, of Alder Grove, Brent, was jailed for 11 years. He was sentenced to a further 12 months in jail, to be served consecutively, after he admitted breaching a suspended sentence order.
Yaanan Reid, 19, of Alder Grove, Brent, was sentenced to eight years and three months.
Konan, 22, of Church Road, Brent, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment. He was sentenced to a further 12 months in jail, to be served consecutively, after he admitted breaching a suspended sentence order.
Both Roberts and Holder were jailed after trial as well.
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Roberts, 21, of Downland Street, Queen’s Park, was sentenced to six years imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and was found guilty after trial of conspiracy to possess an imitation firearm.
Holder, 22,of Hanover Circle, Hayes, was sentenced to three years imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob. She was found not guilty of conspiracy to possess an imitation firearm.
