Police launch dawn swoop on 'properly organised' scooter smash-and-grab gangs terrorising London's streets

Police today swooped on suspected moped thieves linked to a soaring number of robberies and smash and grab raids across London.

Scores of officers carried out pre-dawn raids on 15 addresses in north and east London to target robbers behind a crimewave linked to at least £500,000 worth of stolen goods.

Detectives are investigating a 600 per cent surge in crimes involving mopeds last year - ranging from smash and grab raids on high end boutiques and jewellers to mobile phone snatches where riders mount the pavement “at 60mph” and grab phones from the hands of unsuspecting pedestrians.

The crimes amount to an average of 22 robberies a day.

A police officer carries a riot shield on the dawn swoop on scooter gangs
Jeremy Selwyn

Twelve suspects were held this morning as 100 officers equipped with hydraulic pumps and battering rams forced their way into 15 homes mainly in Islington and Haringey.

Among the first properties to be raided at 5am was an address in Seven Sisters.

A man in his 20s wearing a grey sweat top and tracksuit bottoms was arrested and led away in handcuffs.

The two-storey flat was searched by detectives with evidence being collected in forensic bags while the suspect’s mother looked on.

Properties were raided across six boroughs, Camden, Hackney, Islington, Southwark, Enfield and Haringey - along with another in Grays, Essex.

Around 20 suspects were targeted in the operation codenamed Vocare. A number of properties raided were empty.

A suspect is arrested at the scene of the raid
Jeremy Selwyn

The suspects, who were all aged between 18 and late 20s. were held for offences including conspiracy to rob.

Detectives believe they operated in a loose network of friends and associates.

Det Supt Sean Yates, from the North Area Crime Squad, said: “Today is the culmination of a five month investigation into moped enabled robberies and theft snatches across the whole of London.”

The operation was first launched into 19 raids on mobile phone shops but widened as links emerged to a wider range of offences.

Det Supt Yates said: “Intelligence identified a number of suspects. We are investigating high end smash and grabs of goods with a significant value whether it’s a jeweller or a North Face store, while we are also looking at mobile phones being stolen from pedestrians by suspects doing 60mph on busy footpaths.

“These are organised criminal networks who don’t stop with one type of offence. Whether its going to Carnaby Street to steal high end commercial jewellery or a spate of thefts and phone snatches in an area they decide to target on a one off basis.

“The message is we will not tolerate these offences.”

Detective Inspector Duncan Platt said: “We believe this is organised criminality. These were not people who were doing it for themselves, they are properly organised with a buyer set up for the stolen goods before they are taken.”

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