Three teenagers who hired taxis to drive them to games arcades where they carried out “brutal and violent” robberies, have been jailed.
The trio paid mini cab drivers to wait for them as they carried out the late-night attacks in east London so they could use them as getaway drivers, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard today.
Ashley Samuel, 18, Yahya Ahmed, 19, and Mohamed Sayid, 19, all from Ilford, used a local taxi firm to drop them off near the venues but far enough away that the taxi drivers were oblivious to what they were doing.
Inside the arcades, the group brandished kitchen knives and a screwdriver which had been sharpened to a deadly point at employees, while customers looked on in shock.
Some victims were tied up with duct tape to stop them getting help, while a colleague was forced at knife-point to open the safe.
The gang stole a total of £27,700 during nine robberies between April and July 2014.
All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at Snaresbrook Crown Court in December.
Today, Samuel, Ahmed and Sayid were each sentenced to eight years and four months' imprisonment.
The investigating officer, DC Brad Weston of the Flying Squad, said: "These men were brutal and violent in their pursuit of money.
"One of the victims narrowly escaped being stabbed. It does not bear thinking about how this might have ended had they succeeded.
"Fortunately, none of the victims were seriously injured, although they have all suffered the mental and emotional after-effects of their horrendous experience. Many of the victims are suffering from flashbacks or depression and finding it very hard to return to any kind of normal life."
