Abandoned car led to gems gang
A ROBBERY gang who travelled 150 miles to carry out a £300,000 heist were caught out by a simple mistake.
The five thieves, most of whom are from Oldham, drove several hours to target Sunny Jewellers in the West End of Newcastle.
In a slick operation that lasted barely 50 seconds, the raiders smashed their way into display cabinets with hammers and stole a huge stash of specialist jewellery before fleeing.
The terrifying robbery was caught on CCTV and Northumbria Police launched a major investigation.
The breakthrough came when a member of the public reported a car abandoned on a street in Oldham. It turned out to be the gang’s Audi getaway vehicle - and they were quickly identified.
They were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and now face a lengthy stretch behind bars.
Police said Ali Askhor, 19, posed as a customer to allow the gang to get inside the jewellers.
CCTV footage shown during the trial at Manchester Crown Court shows a staff member unlock the door, at which point the others burst into the shop wearing balaclavas and gloves. The raiders, who were carrying hammers, were ringleader Usman Khan, 20, Shahzad Farooq, 21, and an unidentified third man, the court was told. The gang used their weapons to smash display cabinets.
Alarms in the shop were activated before the men fled in a black Audi S5, leaving staff badly shaken but uninjured. Detectives discovered the gang had switched cars, to a BMW X5, minutes after the robbery.
However, a breakthrough came two days later when police received a call to say a vehicle had been found dumped in a street in Oldham.
Det Cons Steve Patterson said: “Ultimately it came down to one call from a member of the public in Manchester who was concerned about a car that had been left on her street. That was the stroke of luck we needed in the investigation.”
Mobile phone data proved it was Samantha Farrell-Blake, 44, who had picked the gang up in the BMW shortly after the robbery. Shah Almaruf, 19, then drove back to Newcastle in the days after the incident to collect the abandoned Audi. Khan, Almaruf and Askhor admitted their part in the heist. But Farrell-Blake and Farooq were convicted after a trial, at Manchester Crown Court. A sixth defendant Shakil Hassan, 18, was acquitted. Police said the £300,000 haul of jewellery has never been recovered. Khan, from Birmingham, Almaruf, of Middleton Avenue, Oldham, Askhor, of Sherwood Street, Oldham and Taylor and Farooq, of Birmingham, were remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month. Det Cons Steve Patterson