Two moped riders and a car driver allegedly launched a late night smash and grab raid at a London supermarket in a bid to steal cigarettes.
Witnesses said a driver smashed his way into a Sainsbury’s branch in Hendon using a Toyota Prius.
Moped raiders are then said to have swooped and filled the vehicle’s boot with tobacco products.
Leo Bookey, a 30-year-old director of a furniture rental company, watched the alleged raid unfold at the supermarket in Edgware Road at around 1.30am on Monday.
“I drove into the car park to go to the cash machine and as I’m driving in, a red [Toyota] Prius reversed straight into the shop and into the main doors to smash a proper entrance,” he told the Standard.
“It reversed into the door, then drove forward again and then two guys got off their mopeds and grabbed cigarettes from the shop.
“They were filling up the boot of the car and then police pulled up. They were trying to leave, and the mopeds made it out through a pedestrian walkway but the car was stopped.
“The car spilled cigarettes all over the car park,” he added.
Police said 23-year-old Daniel Abair, of no fixed address, was charged with burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, property damage, driving without insurance and driving without a licence after the incident.
He was due to appear at Hendon Magistrates’ court on Tuesday.
