A gang responsible for a series of violent robberies targeting phone shops across London has been jailed after stealing phones worth an estimated £150,000.
The trio of men, including a semi-professional footballer and a teenage boy, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery.
Sammie Govera, 32, used social media to recruit teenagers and gave his orders through a Snapchat group he called '8.30am'.
The gang targeted six O2 and Three stores across London between May 28 and June 9 2025 while wearing dark clothing, balaclavas and gloves.
One of the most significant individual raids involved a masked robber forcing his way into the back office of the Three store in Woolwich and stealing phones worth £30,000.
They threatened staff, forced access to storerooms and safes and stole high-value devices including Apple iPhones worth tens of thousands of pounds from shops in Lewisham, Woolwich, Wood Green, Haringey, Sutton, and Colliers Wood.
During a robbery on May 28 of a Three store in Lewisham, one gang member was abusive to staff members and said 'we should have brought shanks,' with another punching the arm of a customer who tried to intervene.
A gang member also shouted at a female staff member and punched her in the chest to make her reopen a stockroom door during a robbery of an O2 store in Colliers Wood on June 7 last year.
Sammie Govera, 32, was jailed for 13 years and six months for his leading role in a gang responsible for a series of violent phone shop robberies across London
The gang targeted six O2 and Three stores across London, stealing mobile phones worth an estimated £150,000
Govera is pictured in hand cuffs and is believed to have recruited his assaillants on social media
Body-worn footage showed officers swooping on the gang as they attempted to rob an O2 shop in Sutton on June 9 last year following a covert surveillance operation by the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad.
During this attempted robbery, a gang member told an employee to open a door 'or I'm going to hit you', the court heard.
Prosecutors said the robberies left staff members 'traumatised' and resulted in a minimum of £128,000 of stolen phones, with the likely total around £150,000.
The primary organiser of the conspiracy was a man with the Snapchat username of 'Loco' who arranged the robberies, the court was told.
Judge Antony Dunne said the offences were 'carefully planned robberies by an organised and professional group' who messaged on Snapchat to plan the offences.
Govera, 32, who played a 'leading role' in the robberies – despite not being the primary organiser, was sentenced to 13 years and six months' imprisonment.
The court heard Govera, of the Redlands, Newport, sent a message promising rewards to drivers before a robbery, writing: 'If da man dem bang this nice tomorrow I'm gonna cop a whip for any driver available for next ones in future.'
Judge Dunne said Govera was 'supervising young participants in the robberies', telling him: 'You were one of the adults who exploited the young participants.'
Mitigating for Govera, Michael Newport said he had a 'childhood marked by trauma' and his offending was 'driven by entrenched substance use'.
Kevlin Duarte, 20, of Durell Road, Dagenham, was sentenced to 22 months' detention in a young offenders' institution.
Mitigating for Duarte, Keith Hadrill said he had 'fallen out with his family and was sofa surfing' and 'followed the others like a fool'.
Louis Pandanzyla, 19, of Clarence Avenue, Upminster, was sentenced to an 18-month community order, including 150 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Dunne said Pandanzyla, who committed the offences when he was 17, was 'exploited by older men'.
Louis Pandanzyla, 19, who was 17 at the time of the offences, received an 18-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work
Kevlin Duarte, 20, was sentenced to 22 months in a young offenders' institution after being convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery
One of the six targeted mobile phone shops is raided by the gang during their 12-day crime spree
Mitigating for Pandanzyla, Catherine Rose said his offending was part of a 'phase' and 'children like Louis are big enough to look like an adult, but not mature enough to think like an adult'.
She added that he was now working as a PE teacher and playing semi-professional football for Beckenham Town FC.
The judge told him: 'You appear to have a bright future ahead of you and I urge you to take that.'
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to a one-year youth rehabilitation order with intensive supervision.
The court heard that the boy had been 'exploited' by older gang members and had a background of poverty and bereavement including 'finding his sister dead from black mould in his house'.
Getaway driver Saleem Ramzan, 50, could not be sentenced as he died on February 27 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
O2 employed additional security guards and introduced a system of locking front doors with a one-in-one-out entry policy resulting in 'lost trade and additional costs' following the robberies, the court heard.
A total of ten people have now been convicted of involvement in the robbery spree.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Hillier, from the Met's Flying Squad, said: 'These criminals thought they could terrorise shop staff, steal phones and vanish without a trace. They were wrong.
'Our detectives worked quickly, piecing together CCTV, phone data and forensic evidence to catch them.
'Commercial robberies across London are down 13 per cent because of our relentless focus on pursuing and arresting those responsible.
'Let this serve as a warning: if you commit robbery in London, we will find you and bring you to justice.'
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