Three men have pleaded guilty to a series of armed robberies targeting jewellery stores and money transfer shops across London and Manchester. The gang, disguised in helmets and gloves, used sledgehammers and machetes to smash their way into premises before escaping on stolen mopeds.
Over the course of a year, Thomas O'Connor, 23, Alex Parle, 22, and Conor Gartland, 18, struck at seven locations, stealing cash, watches and jewellery worth an estimated £500,000. They admitted conspiracy to commit robbery at the Old Bailey.
The first raid occurred on 22 January 2014 at Carr Jewellers in Liverpool Street, London, where they snatched jewellery and Rolex watches. Further attacks included a robbery at Akdeniz Jewellers in Walworth Road and two raids on 20 December 2014 in Peckham and Stratford, netting over £3,600.
On 22 December 2014, the trio stole £29,000 from Kushiaria Money Exchange in Tower Hamlets. In January 2015, they took eight watches from the Cheshire Watch Company in Manchester. Their final raid was on 13 January 2016 at a jeweller's in Orpington, Kent, where they stole jewellery and watches worth £37,448.
One robber was caught when City workers and a plain-clothes police officer blocked his escape after a robbery, with the incident captured on mobile phone footage by a passer-by. Parle, O'Connor and Gartland are due to be sentenced at a later date.
