Ayman Ghazoini preyed on people selling mopeds and mobile phones online

A teenager from Acton who was responsible for a series of knifepoint robberies has been jailed for five year.

18-year-old Ayman Ghazoini of Second Avenue was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday, 6 August of three counts of robbery with a knife and two counts of theft.

He was sentenced on the same day to five years’ imprisonment for each count of robbery and nine months’ imprisonment for each count of theft. He was also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for breaching a Youth Referral Order. All the sentences will run concurrently giving a total of five years’ imprisonment.

The court heard that Ghazoini preyed on people who had placed their mopeds and mobile phones on online marketplaces.

The offences occurred between Saturday, 6 January and Sunday, 28 January in and around the Brunel Estate and Great Western Road, W2, area where the sellers had been told to meet him.

When they got there, they were confronted by a group of males who threatened them with knives and a bike chain. The property they had gone to sell was then taken either under the threat of violence or by asking for a test drive.

Detectives from Westminster launched an investigation and Ghazoini was arrested on Thursday, 1 February. He was charged the following day with six counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and three counts of theft of a motor vehicle.

Detective Constable Andrea Hewes, the investigating officer from Westminster Crime Squad, said, “We quickly established that the same suspects were behind the robberies and after a thorough investigation, we identified Ghazoini.

“A warrant was carried out at his home address where we found the mobile phone that had been used to contact the victims with the intention of purchasing their unwanted property.

“We are pleased that someone who used threats of violence has been sentenced to such a significant time and prison. Our enquiries into the other people involved remain ongoing.”

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to contact Westminster Crime Squad via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

August 7, 2018