Fulham Men Jailed For Being in Moped Robbery Gang

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OCG's offences included attempt to steal BBC camera on Putney Bridge

Three men from Fulham have been jailed for being part of a 12 strong organised crime gang, or OCD, which committed a string of robberies and moped offences over a seven month period.

Between them, the gang of 12 were sentenced to a total of 67 years and ten months' imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 13 May.

Their crimes included a moped robbery from uniformed officers on Fuham's Lillie Road in November 2017 and the attempted theft of a BBC camera placed on Putney Bridge to film the University Boat Race, as pictured above.

The gang members from Fulham were:

• Omar Tafat, 22 of John Smith Avenue, on Fulham's Clem Atlee Estate, who previously pleaded guilty to attempted theft, going equipped to steal, criminal damage to a police car and breach of a criminal behaviour order. He was also found guilty of two further counts of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon on Friday, 5 October 2018. Tafat was sentenced to eight years and five months’ imprisonment.

• Terry Marsh, 32 of Vanston Place, SW6 who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to burgle on 11 September 2018. He was sentenced to 13 years and two months’ imprisonment.

Judge Georgina Kent, sentencing them at Kingston Crown Court after hearing nine members

had committed 383 previous convictions including burglaries, handling stolen goods, car theft, aggravated vehicle taking, assault and robbery, said: "All 12 of you have been involved in conspiracies to steal, burgle and rob as well as other offences. These were very professional planned and organised offences. The common denominator is Terry Marsh."

 

 

• Ryan Moran 26 of Hazelbury Road, SW6 who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to burgle and handling stolen goods on Tuesday, 11 September 2018. He was handed a 24 month suspended sentence.

There were also two members from Shepherd's Bush:

20  year-old Josh Strong-Myers of Loftus Road was sentenced to eight years. He had previously pleaded guilty to attempted theft, going equipped to steal, criminal damage to a police car, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, possession of an offensive weapon and conspiracy to steal (cameras). He was also found guilty of two further counts of robbery and possession of an offensive weapon on Friday, 5 October 2018.

27 year-old Aaron Pask of Westway, W12 was previously found guilty of conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal. He was sentenced to six years and eight months’ imprisonment.

The other seven members were brothers John McFadyen, 24 and Isaac, 19 of Hounslow Road, who were both jailed for to two years and eight months for conspiracy to rob; . Steven Weller, 36 of Greenlawn Lane, TW8 jailed for six years and seven months' imprisonment for conspiracy to rob and to burgle; Scott Leaver, 25 of Frazier Street, SE1 jailed for four years and eight months for conspiracy to burgle, and Mitchall Leaver, 25 of Trott Street, SW11 handed a 12 month suspended sentence for guilty to conspiracy to burgle.

There were also two members of no fixed address - Ram Monk, 23, sentenced to two years and eight months for conspiracy to burgle and Kian Taylor, 20 who previously pleaded guilty to attempted theft, going equipped to steal, criminal damage to a police car, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was also found guilty of robbery at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, 5 October 2018 and conspiracy to burgle on Monday, 14 January 2019. Taylor was sentenced to nine years and four months.

The convictions came as a result of a year long police investigation led by the Met's Trident Proactive Team.The court heard how between November 2017 and June 2018, the gang were responsible for 16 offences across south and west London boroughs.

The court heard how between November 2017 and June 2018, the gang were responsible for 16 offences across south and west London boroughs.

Most offences were committed at night and the defendants rode motorcycles and used vehicles which were either stolen or had their number plates removed.

The gangs’ professional offending meant they left almost no physical evidence behind and usually wore motorcycle helmets in an attempt to avoid identification.

The Met launched an investigation – named Operation Fieldhouse - into the OCG in February 2018 following an increase in violent moped enabled robberies across the Capital.

This included a moped robbery from uniformed officers on Lillie Road, SW6 in November 2017. Officers came across the moped, which was identified as stolen. Whilst waiting for it to be recovered, the suspects approached the officers, discharged two powdered fire extinguishers as a distraction and stole the moped

As a result of several months of meticulous work and surveillance, key members of the OCG were identified and the investigation established that the gang were responsible for the theft of approximately £40,000 worth of stock during two ram raids at the same clothing shop in Kensington High Street.

During the first incident on 31 December 2017, the group used a stolen Range Rover to break into the store. The defendants stole two high value coats before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on motorbikes.

The second incident took place on 30 January 2018 where three mopeds rammed the front of the shop to gain entry at approximately in the early hours. Four men entered the store holding planks of wood, with which they assaulted a security guard. As the gang members stole items of clothing, the security guard managed to escape and find safety in a nearby taxi where police were alerted. The offenders made off with a number of items of clothing.

The gang were also responsible for the attempted theft of a media camera that was fixed to Putney Bridge on Thursday, 22 March 2018 to film the Oxford v Cambridge boat race. The group arrived on mopeds and attempted to remove the camera using an angle grinder but were unsuccessful. They proceeded to ride to Lonsdale Road in Barnes where they stole a high-value video camera from a scaffolding platform. This camera has never been recovered.

At approximately 3.15pm on 7 May 2018, Strong-Myers, along with Omar Tafat and Kian Taylor, was involved in an attempted knifepoint moped robbery on Dolphin Street in Kingston. A police helicopter identified the suspects riding two mopeds in the area and an immediate police pursuit began with police vehicles on the ground.

During the pursuit both suspect mopeds exceeded speed limits, ignored red traffic signals and rode through parks, including Shepherd’s Bush Green, and other pedestrian areas.

The three men were detained and arrested in Ealing by police following a 90 minute pursuit which ran through ten London boroughs.

 

Officers discovered a hammer, screwdriver, angle grinder and large knife underneath the seat cover of one of the mopeds.

The gang's final offence involved an attempted robbery in Sandpits Road, TW10 on Thursday, 21 June 2018, which was widely circulated on social media. The incident involved four men who made their way on motorbikes to Staunton Road, Kingston where they stole number plates from a parked vehicle.

Both motorbikes then made their way to Sandpits Road, TW10 where two pillion passengers got off the bikes and approached a woman who was walking hand in hand with her three year-old son.

They demanded jewellery whilst threatening to harm the boy if she did not comply. The victim, Phoebe Ruele, however grabbed her child and ran backwards into traffic in an attempt to escape. At this point, the occupants of a lorry got out of the vehicle and chased the robbers away.

Footage of this dramatic incident went viral after being tweeted by TV presenter Amanda Holden, who is reportedly a neighbour of Ms Ruele's.

The suspects for this offence were later identified as Terry Marsh, Steven Weller, and the two McFadyen brothers.

In the early hours of Wednesday, 19 July 2018, the police investigation culminated in a series of search warrants in relation to these crimes. Marsh, Weller, Pask, Isaac McFadyen and Ryan Moran were arrested as a result.

Officers seized pieces of clothing linking them to a number of offences, mobile phones, approximately £6,000 in cash and an imitation firearm.

Detective Inspector Andy Durham, who led the investigation, said: "Operation Fieldhouse was a painstaking investigation which sought to apprehend violent moped criminals.

"Following months of hard work and dedication carried out by my officers, the organised crime group responsible for a series of dangerous offences across London have been brought to justice.

"They terrified their victims during a number of calculated and violent ordeals and will now spend a significant amount of time behind bars.

“In addition to the pain and distress they caused to so many innocent people over the past two years, the cost of their crime spree is estimated to be approximately half a million pounds.

"I hope today's sentencing highlights that criminality of this kind will not be tolerated in London. We will continue to work tirelessly around the clock to apprehend those involved in these types offences and bring them before the courts."

 

 May 14, 2019