A burqa-clad gang led by the nephew of Birds of A Feather star Linda Robson has been jailed for a total of 64 years after stealing £1.5m of watches from Selfridges during a string of smash-and-grab raids.
Reece Dunford, 31, whose aunt is most famous for playing Tracey Stubbs in the hit TV sitcom, orchestrated £3m worth of daring heists across plush London stores, before using his glamorous model girlfriend to sell on some of the goods.
The notorious group threatened staff and customers with sledgehammers before smashing through some of London’s most exclusive shops, netting high-value goods such as Prada handbags.
One of the ten ‘audacious’ burglaries saw the gang burst into Selfridges in broad daylight while disguising themselves with burqas, before making their getaway on mopeds.
The looted items, including Jimmy Choo shoes, were then sold on by 25-year-old Hollie Dowding, the mother of Dunford’s 20-month-old child. She also recruited 71-year-old Hatton Garden jeweller Yair Cohen to sell them on.
The court heard how Dunford - whose aunt gave a character reference to the court - carried out the first burglary on an Alexander McQueen warehouse, making off with £50,000 worth of handbags, clothing and laptops.
He then plotted and handled stolen goods from a further five robberies between December 2007 and March 2014.
Dunford was one of seven men who was jailed today after appearing in the dock at Kingston Crown Court.
Sentencing him to 12 years behind bars, Judge Elaine Coello said he was ‘deeply criminal’ and that the burglaries had been ‘outrageous’.
She said: ‘You were involved in almost every single one of these indictments.
‘You are the link between the defendants and you had carved out a criminal life for yourself and had formed a number of criminal relationships.
‘For all intents and purposes this was Dunford & Co although this business was deeply criminal in nature. Your offending is aggravated by the sheer scale of these crimes and the high value of the goods stolen.’
‘You have the support of loving family and friends who are struggling to come to terms with what you have done.’
She added: ‘These were professionally planned robberies involving groups of men working together, each with specifically assigned roles.
‘These robberies were audacious and outrageous and the financial loss to the businesses involved was huge.’
The court heard how Dunford made a name for himself as the ‘go-to’ man for handling high-value stolen goods which had been snatched in smash and grab raids.
But the Flying Squad finally captured Dunford after he handpicked a team of robbers to carry out a raid on the exclusive jewellers Mappin and Webb, in the City of London.
The court heard how Dunford’s first robbery took place in December 2007, when he and two other men burgled the Alexander McQueen warehouse in Islington, north London.
Police audio hidden in Dunford’s car later recorded him saying: ‘I broke into an Alexander McQueen warehouse and the alarm didn’t go off, so I had it all night; I went back five times.’
In February 2008, three men then unsuccessfully attempted to burgle a Goldsmiths jewellery store in Colchester, Essex. After being chased by police, the men were found hiding and the footage was later shown on TV show Police Interceptors.
From his car, Dunford was recorded saying: ‘You can watch it on Interceptors. But I got away.’
The third incident took place in November 2012 when the gang burgled designer handbag shop Pauric Sweeney in central London.
Armed robbers stormed the premises on mopeds, smashing their way through shutters and stealing 38 designer handbags worth £34,505. The night-time raid caused £12,000 worth of damage to the store.
The court heard how the Selfridges incident took place in June 2013, when the store was still open.
A group of men wearing burqas, who were also armed with axes and sledge hammers, stole approximately £1.5m of goods including 148 watches.
Dunford took possession of seven of the watches and sold them on but more than 40 were dropped by fleeing robbers. Five men were jailed in August last year for a total of 58 years for their part in that robbery.
Then, on October 2013, the gang raided the Prada store on Old Bond Street. During that raid, six suspects on three scooters smashed their way into the shop, taking £60,000 of handbags.
The next raid took place at Watches of Switzerland, also in central London, during which 18 Patek Phillipes watches worth £577,670 were stolen. Shoppers were also threatened with firearms.
Then, in February 2014, a group robbed Carlton Tower in Cadogan Place. The men arrived on mopeds and used axes and sledgehammers to smash display cases, from where they took ten watches worth £288,130.
One month later, a burglary was carried out at Jimmy Choo in Conduit Street, where a group of men on motorbikes their way into the building took handbags worth £22,000.
Dunford, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted seven counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, two of conspiracy to burgle, one of conspiracy to rob and one of conspiracy to produce Class B drugs.
Dowding, also from Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted two counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods. She will be sentenced at a later date.
David Mays, 33, from Bexleyheath, Danny St Luce, 29, from Islington, north London and Boz Burbridge, 31, from Camden, London, admitted conspiracy to rob Mappin and Webb. Mays was jailed for eight years while St Luce and Burbidge were jailed for seven.
Yair Cohen, 71, from Hackney, east London, was found guilty of three counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, converting criminal property, money laundering and cheating the revenue. He was jailed for three years.
Patrick Spencer O’Brien, 23, from Islington, was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Vincent Kamara, 28, from Camden, north London, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery and was also jailed for 12 years.
Dunford was also involved in running a cannabis factory in Whatton-at-Stone, Hertforshire, which yielded profits of nearly £500,000 a year.
A police bug in Dunford’s car caught him discussing buying trays and pots and how to get the most out of the plants.
In his character references, Dunford - said to suffer from the inner-ear condition Meniere’s Disease and depression - was described as a ‘kind’ and ‘caring’ man who has been involved with youth mentoring.
He has also worked with the Ben Kinsella Trust, an organisation dedicated to tackling knife crime after the 16 year old brother of former Eastenders actress Brooke was murdered in 2008.
Defending, Scott Ivill, said: ‘It is an understatement to say that he has made some bad life choices but he has now had 15 months in custody and has had time to think and reflect on his past behaviour and what he wishes to do in the future.
‘He is a relatively young man at the age of 29 and has shown remorse, he has also expressed to more than one individual his regret and it is right to point out that this will be his first prison sentence.’
Speaking after the sentence, Detective Constable Simon Davison of the Flying Squad, said: ‘Dunford was involved in every incident in one way or another and clearly started to think he was untouchable.
‘These smash and grabs were aggressive. Sometimes, the robbers threatened innocent people with sledgehammers and axes in order to get to the goods.
‘Dunford was involved in every incident in one way or another and clearly started to think he was untouchable.
‘These convictions are proof that the Flying Squad will relentlessly pursue anyone who tries to make a living from crimes like these.’