Two members of a bike theft gang jailed

The mastermind behind an organised crime gang which handled and stole bikes in the City of London, has been sentenced to two years and nine months in jail at Inner London Crown Court.

Louey Baldwin, 29, of Wendover Way, Orpington, pleaded guilty to handling stolen bikes.

A City of London Police operation in 2020 found that the gang stole more than £100,000 worth of bikes over a two-year period.

Also sentenced for handling stolen goods were the following:

• Suleyman Akram, 30, of St Elmos Road, Southwark, has been sentenced to two years and six months.
• Ryan Boxer, 32, of Gunner Rise, Shoeburyness, has been given a two year suspended sentence.
• Gavin McKie, 29, of Hill House Road, Dartford, has been give a 10 month suspended sentence.

Seven members of this group have already been sentenced to prison or received suspended sentences.

During the gang’s criminal spree in August 2020, there were 68 reported bike thefts in the City and following the arrests the number of reported bike thefts in January 2021 fell to seven.

Last year, on average, there were around 19 bike thefts a month, considerably lower than when the gang was operating.

Detective Constable Matt Cooper, in the Serious Organised Crime Team at City of London Police, said:

“The City of London Police has been working tirelessly to catch and bring bike thieves and their handlers to justice, employing technology and innovative techniques to limit their opportunities to commit more criminal activities.

“Today’s sentencing shows our dedication and work to achieve this outcome.

“This group stole thousands of pounds worth of bikes, and since their arrests we have had a significant  reduction in offences reported as a result of the disruption to the handling mechanism in place for thieves targeting the City offences.”

Detectives caught the gang after a bike was stolen in November 2020, and officers tracked it to a warehouse in East London.

The City of London Police recovered 57 bikes, with a value of £100,000, as well as bike parts at Express Plant Hire, which was also being used by the thieves and handlers as a place to dispose of the stolen bikes.

Further investigations of CCTV footage showed the bike thieves entering the warehouse on a daily basis and some of the defendants were seen on security footage dismantling the bikes.

Baldwin was seen on the footage to hand over angle grinders, a common tool used to steal bikes, to the thieves.

A further 21 bikes were recovered from Akram’s home address.

Police have so far returned more than 20 of the bikes to their owners.