Seven men have been sentenced for being part of a group that carried out a series of smash-and-grab raids at luxury stores across London.
The defendants stole more than £100,000 worth of goods from several high-value stores over four months in 2025, the Metropolitan Police said.
Using bricks, sledgehammers and a Ford Fiesta to ram into the doors of the shops, the robbers took watches, jewellery, fine art and safes containing cash, before using stolen vehicles as getaway cars.
Across the group, five successful burglaries of shops in London were committed between May and July 2025, Kingston Crown Court previously heard, with a total of £146,356 worth of items stolen.
The court heard there were also two unsuccessful burglaries on an apothecary in Marylebone and a watch shop in Westminster.
The group consisted of Christopher Gibbs, 43; George O’Hare, 42; Paul Hughes, 42; Anthony Munday, 40; Lee James McCready, 46; Matthew Windrass, 50; and David Rigelsford, 37.
McCready was on licence for murder committed in 2005 when he took part in a robbery during which almost £60,000 worth of watches and jewellery were stolen from a store on Edgeware Road in west London.
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CCTV footage shown in court showed two men, identified as McCready and Windrass, rushing up to the shop front wearing balaclavas before snatching watches and jewellery through the windows and running back to a “getaway driver” in a silver Jaguar identified as Munday.
In another burglary involving Gibbs, O’Hare and Hughes, CCTV showed the robbers using a Ford Fiesta to smash through the doors of a Fendi store on Sloane Street in central London, before grabbing designer handbags and escaping using a motorbike and silver Mercedes.
Gibbs was also sentenced for using a “paving block” to smash through the locked front door of Clarendon Fine Art, before going on to steal two pieces of framed art collectively valued at £66,500, along with an unknown man.
What were defendants convicted of and what were their sentences?
• Gibbs, of Bayswater, west London, was convicted of four counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
• O’Hare, of Shepherd’s Bush, west London, was convicted of one count of burglary, possession of Class A drugs and breach of a serious crime prevention order. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
• Hughes, of Westminster, central London, was convicted of two counts of burglary. He was also convicted of an unrelated robbery. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
• Munday, of Hyde Park, west London, was convicted of one count of burglary. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 150 hours unpaid work.
• McCready, of Uxbridge, west London, was convicted of one count of burglary. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
• Windrass, of Ascot, Berkshire, was convicted of one count of burglary. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
• Rigelsford, of Kilburn, north London, was convicted of two counts of burglary. He was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment.
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Detective Chief Inspector Scott Mather, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “We realise these attacks on luxury stores have had a significant impact on business owners and the communities around them.
“Our detectives worked quickly, establishing common patterns between the attacks to link them to one criminal network. Forensic analysis and fast-paced CCTV inquiries were then able to identify the suspects.
“This is a clear message to anyone who thinks they can carry out smash-and-grab raids in London – we will identify you, we will track you down and we will bring you to justice.”
