PA Regional Newswire of English Regions
LONDON — A crime gang has been convicted of using a firefighter’s disguise for gunpoint robberies in east London.
Ringleader Darren Lloyd, 35, led a team who made tens of thousands of pounds targeting cash-in-transit deliveries.
He recruited fireman Russell Williams, 39, to supply real uniforms to former police officer Gary Griffiths, who wore the kit, Scotland Yard said.
Lloyd, of Pettits Road, Dagenham, was arrested by armed officers last December as he scrambled from the wreckage of a Volvo getaway car.
Griffiths, 42, of Babbington Road, Dagenham, used the disguise to gain access to safes and storerooms and armed himself with a pistol to threaten shop staff, the Old Bailey heard.
He was captured on camera in December last year in Premier Foods in Becontree Avenue, Dagenham.
Lloyd was convicted by a jury of 12 counts of conspiracy to rob between July and December last year, and four counts of having an imitation firearm with intent.
Detective Superintendent John Kielty, from the Flying Squad, said: “These men made a lucrative career of carrying out robberies and were a highly organised and violent team.’'
Griffiths, Jason Stacey, 38, of Chitty’s Lane, Dagenham, Joshua McEvilly, 29, of Hare Hall Lane, Romford, Ben Garforth, 20, of Chadwell Heath Lane, Dagenham, Frank Nesbitt, 20, of Mildmay Road, Romford, and Peter Henderson, 29, of Lymington Road, Dagenham, all previously admitted robbery.
Firefighter Williams, of Bury Green Road, Cheshunt, had previously pleaded guilty to assisting an offender. Sentencing will take place in January, a Met Police spokesman said.
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