Moped-riding thieves face years in jail for four raids that caused £50,000 of damage 

Dramatic moment moped-riding thieves snatch £22,000 cash box from a Sainsbury’s and hurl a breeze block through a shop window as they face years in jail for four raids that caused £50,000 of damage

  • Alfie Atherton, 29, and Reed Roberts, 30, worked as part of  a robbery gang 
  • Pair used stolen mopeds with fake number plates to carry out raids in London   
  • Were part of a gang of four who tried to raid Dior and Fendi stores last year
  • Atherton and Roberts admitted two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery

This is the shocking moment two moped-riding thieves carry out a series of  terrifying raids across London.      

Alfie Atherton, 29, and Reed Roberts, 30, worked as part of an organised robbery gang based in Flaxham Court, Kings Cross, between January 29 to March 3 last year.

The pair used stolen mopeds with fake number plates and concealed their identities with motorcycle helmets and high-vis jackets in order to carry out their raids across the capital. 

The pair, who caused an estimated £51,350 worth of damages over their four raids, were part of a gang of four who tried to raid a Dior and Fendi store in central London on March 3, 2020.

One of the thieves confronts a worker outside Sainsbury’s and steals his cash box

The thieves used stolen mopeds with fake number plates and concealed their identities with motorcycle helmets and high-vis jackets during their raids in London

The thieves used stolen mopeds with fake number plates and concealed their identities with motorcycle helmets and high-vis jackets during their raids in London

Footage shows the gang smash the Fendi window with a concrete breeze block before they are stopped by the store’s security shutters.

Meanwhile another clip shows one of the thieves steal a cash box outside a Sainsbury’s store before fleeing the scene on a moped.

Mohammed Rahman, a Liberty’s security guard, was on duty when Atherton smashed a window with a concrete block at 1.15am on January 29.

The burglar climbed through the window wearing a motorcycle helmet and began putting more than £20,530 worth of perfume into a builder’s sack.

But when the security team confronted Atherton, the thief pulled out a large knife before climbing out the window onto Carnaby Street where Roberts was waiting to drive him away from the scene.

Two days later, Syed Naqvi was at work putting cash boxes at Sainsbury’s cashpoints on Clerkenwell Road when a man in a motorcycle helmet, possibly Atherton or Roberts, screamed at him: ‘Drop it!’

Mr Naqvi dropped the cash box containing £22,000, believing the robber was armed, then watched as the hit-and-run sped away on a dark blue moped.

Witness Mark Bury saw the pair ride past him and watched as the moped driver passed an angle grinder to the rider who then took out the money.

One of the thieves uses au00A0concrete breeze block to break through the window of a Fendi store in London

One of the thieves uses a concrete breeze block to break through the window of a Fendi store in London

The gang caused an estimated u00A351,350 worth of damages over their four raids in the capital

The gang caused an estimated £51,350 worth of damages over their four raids in the capital

Angus Mathieson, defending Atherton, said: ‘He carried the weapon only to threaten people, he never intended to use it.’

Atherton has previous convictions for robbery starting in 2010, when he was sentenced to three years in a young offenders’ institution.

Roberts has 12 convictions for 13 offences, including for a gang raid on Ernest Jones in Oxford street where the thieves smashed Rolex and Breitling display cases with sledgehammers, grabbed 46 high-value watches and escaped on the back of motorbikes.

Atherton and Roberts admitted two counts of robbery, and two counts of attempted robbery.

Atherton, of Tower Hamlets, also admitted possession of a knife.

The pair are due to be sentenced on March 26 at Inner London Crown Court.