Six men sentenced for double cash machine raid

Six men have been sentenced for stealing £46,590 from two cash machines inside Alexandra Palace.

On 19 August 2019, at around 2am, three of the men gained entry to the building through the main doors using bolt-cutters.

Once inside the building, they used power tools to sever the connections on the ATMs and detach the machines.

A fourth man drove to the venue and the men placed one of the ATMs into the back of a van, while a fifth man in another vehicle acted as lookout, before the group drove away.

At 04:25hrs, the same five men returned to the venue, detached the second ATM and drove off with it.

A sixth member of the group, Robert Neville, assisted with finding a yard to break into the machines out of public view.

Both ATMs were found separately by members of the public in Fairmead Road, Loughton and Hoe Lane, Abridge.

The vehicles involved in the burglaries were also found abandoned near The Croft, Chingford by officers on routine patrol. Subsequent checks were conducted and the vehicles were linked to the five men.

Following a police investigation, warrants were carried out on 20 November 2019 at the addresses of the defendants. All six were arrested and charged.

They were sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, 29 October, as follows:

Aaron Noah, 32, of Harpley Square, Tower Hamlets pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary. He also pleaded guilty to a burglary at the Nat West bank in Whitechapel on 28th June 2019. He was jailed for four years and two months.

Kyle Shillingford-Small, 33, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary. He was jailed for four years and two months.

Robert Neville, 42, of Cliveden Close, Brentwood pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 80 hours’ unpaid work.

The following were convicted after a trial in September:

Jason Hardcastle, 35, of Withy Mead, Waltham Forest was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and jailed for three years and nine months.

Abdirazak Yassin, 23, of Approach Road, Tower Hamlets was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 150 hours’ unpaid work.

Hassan Ibrahim, 24, of Vernon Road, Tower Hamlets was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 150 hours’ unpaid work.

DC Will Man, of Specialist Crime, said: “Diligent policing, thorough detective work and a strong collaboration with prosecution counsel, David Harounoff and Brinder Soora, have led to these convictions and the sentences handed down […].

“Police officers are working day in and day out right across London to ensure that criminals are caught and held to account for their actions.”