A teenage criminal who told police "I sell weed" when asked about his job has been jailed for his part in a city centre phone-snatching spree. Ahmed Mohammed, 19, of Colton Road, Belle Vale, was also caught importing up to £420,000 of cannabis into the UK.
Phone snatching spree
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Mohammed and four friends, Ayuub Hassan, Hussein Hassan, Abdullahi Osman and Mohamed Yusuf, travelled to Merseyside from London, apparently to "go clubbing". Instead, they snatched mobile phones from victims on Mathew Street and Bold Street.
The gang acted together, hugging and distracting their "easy prey" before taking their devices. One victim, Daniel Hobart, left the Grapes pub on Mathew Street at around 2.45am on January 11 with his brother when three men approached them. During the conversation, one of the males snatched his phone and ran towards the Met Quarter.
CCTV showed Hussein Hassan speaking with Mr Hobart before being joined by Osman. Mohammed and Ayuub Hassan stood nearby before Mohammed "joined the conversation". When Mr Hobart handed him his phone "to look at", Mohammed ran away with it. Osman was seen hugging the victim moments beforehand, possibly "distracting him, giving Mr Mohammed the opportunity to make off with the mobile phone".
Around an hour later, the group approached another man, Tulio Xavier, who was alone near Coyote Ugly on Bold Street. Two males tried to "show him his Instagram page" on his phone. While Mr Xavier tried to "keep a tight hold of his device", a third man snatched it and ran. CCTV showed Osman "seeming to give a signal" to Mohammed, who took the phone, pulling at the victim as he did so.
Arrest and previous conviction
Mr Xavier reported the incident to a police officer, leading to Osman being found near a parked BMW. He claimed he had "driven up from London to go clubbing in Liverpool". The other defendants were found inside the hired car. Both victims' phones were found in Mohammed's shoes.
Mohammed had previously been spotted "behaving in a suspicious way" in the London Road area on June 19 last year. He was found with cash, an active mobile phone and two bags of cannabis. When asked by the custody sergeant what his job was, he replied: "I sell weed."
He had earlier received a 46-week suspended sentence for importing cannabis in November 2025, after Border Force stopped him at Heathrow Airport in August 2025. His suitcase contained 26 vacuum-packed packages of cannabis, weighing 18kg, worth around £56,000 wholesale and an estimated £420,000 street value.
Mitigation and sentencing
Matthew O'Neill, defending Mohammed, said: "He moved to Liverpool in 2019 to live with his father. He completed his GCSEs, but, unfortunately, found himself mixing with the wrong crowd. The level of immaturity can be evidenced by his comment in the custody suite."
He added: "Clearly, this was group activity. The two complainants were out in the city centre, having consumed alcohol. My client, perhaps, was the not so Artful Dodger of the group. He was the one who took the phones and ran away and, not long thereafter, was apprehended by the police. The phones were recovered."
Mohammed admitted two counts of theft, battery, being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cannabis resin, and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was handed a total of 22 months in a young offenders' institute.
Hussein Hassan, 25, of Kingston Square in Norwood, pleaded guilty to two theft charges and breaching a community order. He was jailed for 16 months. His barrister Peter Wilson said he was "ashamed of his actions" and had used his time in custody to do a maths course.
Yusuf, 23, of Capitol Way in Edgware, admitted two thefts and was also jailed for 16 months. His counsel Craig Crosbie noted he had 17 previous convictions for 29 offences, including a 14-month sentence for robbery in October 2023. He said: "This is the fourth similar snatch offence in five years, so he is not very good at it."
Osman, 25, of Poynders Road in Clapham, pleaded guilty to two thefts, possession of a bladed article and breaching a suspended sentence order. He received a total of two years and two months. His barrister Paul Wood said he had "had a very tough upbringing" and hoped to complete an IT apprenticeship on release.
Ayuub Hassan, 31, of Rousay Drive in Edgware, admitted two theft charges. He was given a 14-month suspended sentence with a curfew and rehabilitation activity requirement. His barrister Matthew Stewart said he was "remorseful" and supported his mother, who had lost the use of her right arm.
Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "The four of you travelled up from London to Liverpool. You met up with Ahmed Mohammed. All five of you were out in the city centre. All five of you were then involved in thefts of mobile phones from two separate victims."
She added: "This was planned activity and, in my judgement, your victims were targeted as you perceived them to be easy prey, either because they were intoxicated or on their own. There is no evidence that you travelled up from London with that intention, but the cameras showed that you were all acting together."
