Four teenagers jailed for stealing £115,000 worth of cryptocurrency in knifepoint robberies

Four teenagers were jailed for stealing £115,000 worth of cryptocurrency in knifepoint robberies.

The group committed a series of robberies and attempted robberies in different parts of London between June 2021 and January 2022. They would threaten victims with knives, force them to hand over their phones, and then steal their cryptocurrency. They would then siphon off the victims’ cryptocurrency into ‘hot wallets’, resulting in more than £115,000 worth of cryptocurrency being stolen. 

The teenagers were caught after they used stolen bank information to order takeaways to their home addresses. On Tuesday, 3 and Wednesday, 4 May, Police executed a series of warrants at the known addresses and arrested all four males. They were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and sentenced to between four and six years in prison.

Detective Constable James Green, of the Specialist Crime Command, said: “In total, there were 19 robberies within the conspiracy in which 26 people were robbed. During my career as a police officer I have not come across criminals of such a cowardly nature. The group singled out innocent members of the public whilst armed with weapons in order to rob them of their mobile phones and digital currencies. They would insinuate that the victims were members of an opposing gang, whilst all knew that these were innocent members of the public.”

The group were sentenced on Thursday, 6 July, to a total of more than 23 years in jail. Those involved include:

Daniel Boakye, 18 of Alma Road, Enfield, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, plus an additional incident of robbery. He was sentenced to six years and five months’ imprisonment.

Nathan Mohalland, 19 of Manor Road, Hackney was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, robbery and possession of a bladed article. He was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment with five additional years on licence.

Justin Popoola, 19, of Rushcroft Road, Chingford was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.

Boakye, Popoola and the 17-year-old were sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court; Mohalland was sentenced separately at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

One other teenager, a 17-year-old male, was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.