Convicted gang left robbery victims ‘fearing for their lives’ with large knives and machetes

A group of men who committed a series of terrifying knifepoint robberies have been convicted – thanks to one of the victims noting the number plate of a getaway car.

Three of the men are from the Winstanley Estate near Clapham Junction, with the others coming from Balham, Wandsworth and Dagenham.

The group used a stolen BMW on false plates to carry out their crimes, in each case threatening the victims with a large knife or machete before stealing valuable watches and bags.

Michael Malik Ahmed, 29, of Little Dimocks, Balham, pleaded guilty to six counts of robbery – four on December 21, 2021, and two on January 9, 2022.

At a trial which concluded on Monday at Isleworth Crown Court, he was also found guilty of possessing an offensive weapon used in the attacks, as well as dangerous driving.

At the same trial, Kaijuan Henry, 19, of Woodward Road, Dagenham was found guilty of being involved in the December robberies, while Jessy Ouma, 18, of the Patmore Estate, Wandsworth was found guilty of being involved in the robberies on January 9.

Zakariah Yusuf and Joseph Opoku, both 19, and Roshan Clark, 18, all of the Winstanley Estate, had previously pleaded guilty to being involved.

Sentencing will take place on a date to be set.

Detective Sergeant Gary Taylor, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These men carried out multiple violent robberies which left many of those targeted fearing for their lives.

“Their attacks were brazen, took place in busy streets and I have no doubt they would have gone on to commit further crimes if they had not been quickly caught.”

The robberies took place in Old Church Street and Walton Street in Chelsea, Cornford Grove in Balham, and nearby Draycott Avenue.

The first on that December day was at around 11.15am. A couple were walking down the road when they were passed at speed by a car. The vehicle, driven by Ahmed, came to a halt and Clark and Henry jumped out armed with a crowbar and large serrated knife.

They surrounded the man, grabbing his wrist and forced him to hand over his Tag Heuer watch, worth about £1,500.

Less than an hour later, a man was chased into a doorway by Clark and Henry, one of whom was armed with a long zombie-style knife. They punched him in the face, causing part of  tooth to fall out, before his bag was stolen.

At around 6pm, two men sitting at a pub table were forced to hand over their watches, worth about £35,000 each.

On January 9, at around 3.20pm, Ouma, Yusuf and Opoku, armed with a large machete, robbed a couple of a £6,000 Rolex watch, Bulgari ring and a £1,150 Tag Heuer watch.

The man was hit in the face, causing multiple fractures.

But the couple were able to provide police with the car’s registration number and, shortly afterwards, officers spotted the BMW and gave chase.

The fleeing car crashed into a wooden fence and the occupants ran off into an estate. Although they escaped, Ahmed left incriminating evidence in the BMW, including a phone and bank card.

A large machete was used in the robberies was also found, as was a tracksuit top with distinctive markings which matched the clothing worn by Ahmed when he was caught on CCTV at a petrol station.

When Ouma was arrested, officers seized and examined his phone. This revealed photoraphs of Henry and Clark celebrating their robberies by wearing a number of the stolen watches.

None of the property stolen has ever been recovered.

Pictured top: Roshan Clark wearing stolen watches – an image recovered from one of the gang’s phones (Picture: The Met)