Three members of organised criminal gang are jailed

Three members of an organised criminal gang have been jailed for multiple offences.

Two of the men were sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday.

Recardo Morrison, 31, of Blackwater Court, Coulsdon was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of an imitation firearm to commit an indictable offence, dangerous driving and criminal damage.

Kashin McLeod, 29, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit robbery.

A third man, Isreal Adu, 46, of Propeller Crescent, Croydon had previously been sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court after being found guilty of possession of fraudulent identity documents and possession of cannabis.

At around 10pm on January 22 last year, Morrison tried to rob a man of his BMW in Mitcham Road, Croydon. Morrison was driving his own BMW and followed the victim’s BMW through Croydon.

He twice bumped into the rear of the victim, forcing him to stop. As the victim got out of his car, two passengers burst out of Morrison’s car wearing snoods covering their faces and grabbed hold of the victim and tried to steal his BMW.

Police, who had been looking into Morrison’s activities, intervened as the robbery was in progress so the attempt to take it was thwarted.

Morrison took off at speed and drove dangerously through residential streets while being pursued by an unmarked police vehicle. Due to his dangerous driving, the pursuit was terminated.

Police later saw Morrison’s BMW parked outside his home address. Five days later, the car was discovered burnt out in Coulsdon.

On the second occasion, March 27, 2019, Morrison and McLeod arrived in Dukes Road, Acton at around 8pm.

They walked around an unattended Audi S4 car that belonged to a rival, paying attention to it.

Morrison and McLeod then sat in Morrison’s BMW that was parked next to the Audi. Adu joined them at the scene in another vehicle.

At around 9pm officers from the Met’s Specialist Firearms Command supported by Specialist Crime officers stopped Morrison’s and Adu’s vehicle.

McLeod was found in possession of an imitation firearm in a sock tucked down the front of his trousers. Both McLeod and Morison were arrested. Adu was arrested and also found in possession of cannabis.

Police found a GPS tracker, a Samsung tablet, phones and an instruction manual for a GPS tracker inside Morrison’s BMW.

Police searched the underside of the Audi and found a GPS tracker attached to it that was the same make as the manual found in the BMW.

Morrison’s phone was examined as part of the investigation and this showed he had contacts saved as TK1, TK2 and TK3 that were all numbers for GPS trackers.

Police were able to evidence from call data records that Morrison’s phone had been tracking the Audi and was communicating with a GPS tracker on January 22, 2019 during the attempted robbery.

Police found a fraudulent Portuguese identity document and two fraudulent driving licences with Adu’s photos in false names during a search of his home address. Morrison changed his account numerous times during his police interview as further evidence was presented to him.

He became angry as police rebutted his account and smashed up the interview discs, resulting in him additionally being charged with criminal damage.

Detective Sergeant Damian Hill, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “I am pleased with this result and sentences that have been handed down. My team worked hard to compile the evidence in this case, working with the CPS and prosecution counsel to bring these three men to face justice.

“Tackling violent crime remains a priority for the Met and we will continue to arrest those who bring fear to the streets of London.”

Top, from left, Adu, McLeod and Morrison