West London Gang Busted for Stealing Nearly £157k from Drunk Londoners
A brazen gang of five men has been jailed for targeting vulnerable Londoners on nights out, ripping off nearly £157,000. The thieves stole bank cards and splurged thousands on designer gear, cashing in on their victims’ drunken trust.
Designer Clothes and Watches Bought with Stolen Cash
The gang’s spree stretched across the capital, hitting victims late at night and early morning. On August 12, they pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court to conspiracy to steal, fraud, and possession of criminal property. On November 24, sentences were handed down.
- Mohammed Yusuf, 26, and Arun Babbar, 23, both from Harrow, were jailed for over three years and slapped with five-year criminal behaviour orders.
- Hamzah Mahmood, 25, of Wembley, Reece Brown, 25, and Mahamed Hassan, 25, both from Harrow, received suspended sentences along with criminal behaviour orders and electronic tags.
How The Gang Pulled Off Their Crimes
The gang exploited victims’ drunken states. On November 26, 2021, Babbar, Mahmood, and Yusuf surrounded a man at a Cannon Street ATM. The victim couldn’t recall the ordeal but later found over £1,000 had been fraudulently spent from his accounts, with a third bank card also stolen.
Soon after, the gang invited another victim from Moorgate back to a flat in Ealing, where they stayed till early morning. The victim’s credit card vanished, later used to splash out £10,000 on designer clothes.
Just two days later, Babbar and Hassan targeted a nightclub-goer in Euston. After a ride back to the victim’s flat, they walked away with four watches worth nearly £27,000 and emptied his bank account on high-end clothes and sportswear.
Police Crackdown and Sentencing
BABBAR was first caught in December 2021 for a London Bridge robbery, earning eight months that count alongside his current sentences. In March 2022, police caught Hassan and Mahmood suspiciously talking to a man at an ATM. Mahmood was found with two fake bank cards.
Raids on the gang’s homes uncovered links to multiple thefts, cryptocurrency wallets with almost £60,000, and several more offences between late 2021 and early 2022. Detective Sergeant Dominic Shaw said:
“This group deliberately targeted people who had been out on a night out because they knew they would be more vulnerable to theft. They gained their victims’ trust, even inviting themselves into their homes, before stealing tens of thousands of pounds from their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.”
The message is clear — stay vigilant on nights out to avoid falling prey to these callous thieves.
