‘Highwaymen of the 21st century’ murdered man

TWO teenage moped robbers dubbed ‘21st century highwaymen’ were convicted yesterday of stabbing a charity youth worker to death for his iPhone.

Abdul Samad, 28, was stabbed in the heart – hours after promising to marry his girlfriend – by the pair as they rode around London high on drugs. They stabbed five people during a four-hour rampage on October 16 last year.

Nathan Gilmaney, 19, grinned as he and his accomplice Troy Thomas, 18, were led to the cells at the Old Bailey. Their victim’s mother, meanwhile, said the killing had ‘broken’ her family.

Mr Samad, who had dedicated his life to helping children, did not hesitate to hand over his iPhone, wallet and even his PIN when Gilmaney and Thomas accosted him.

But Gilmaney stabbed him before roaring off with Thomas to ‘rob and maim their way around West London’. Mr Samad’s mother Layla Begum wept as she said: ‘The death of my son has absolutely broken my entire family and me.’

Gilmaney and Thomas, both of Maida Vale, carried out nine robberies, taking turns to stab victims. They were described in court as ‘highwaymen of the 21st century’. They will be sentenced next month.