Gang of robbers caught trying to steal phones in EE shop by undercover police
A gang of robbers raiding an EE shop was ambushed by undercover police as they emptied the shelves of smartphones.
Last night four men wearing surgical masks and hoods stormed the EE mobile phone shop in Kilburn High Road and threatened staff to open the safes containing the devices.
Two of the suspects detained staff and customers on the shop floor whilst the remaining two forced a staff member to open the storeroom.
The suspects proceeded to load phones into the bag but Flying Squad detectives arrived swiftly on scene and stopped them before they could run away.
A staff member told the Metro: ‘Robbers came to our shop two weeks ago but the manager pretended to faint and then hit the panic button and they ran away.
‘The police somehow thought they would come back and so staked the place out.
‘When they tried again undercover police, some in the shop grabbed them. The look in on their faces told it all. They were amazed.
‘They tried to leg it and one was tasered. It was like something out of a movie.’
He added: ‘a lot of EE shops have been robbed in the past couple of months. Our Notting Hill branch was cleaned out.
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‘It’s always the same four of them go in the shop and one goes to the store room and piles phones into a duffel bag. I am told they have knives. Obviously it’s terrifying for staff. This time they didn’t get away and no one was hurt.’
A shop manager opposite the EE store told Metro: ‘There were police everywhere we thought it may be a stabbing it was very frantic and there was shouting. Everyone in our shop stayed inside.’
Staff at another mobile phone store Three near the EE shop said they were on high alert in case they were targeted.
Staff at the EE shop said a change in the law which means phones come unlocked and not requiring a pin had made devices easier to sell on.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that there was a proactive flying squad op tackling mobile phone robbery. Arrests made.’
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