Robbery gang jailed 50 years for cash van raids

The men, who all came from the East Midlands, made off with £70,333 in two separate robberies in Sheffield and Anstey, near Leicester, pouncing on the security vans as they delivered cash.

In the Sheffield robbery, which took place on May 5, 2011 at the Tesco supermarket in Infirmary Road, a guard holding the money was hit with a baseball bat, while five days later the gang threatened another guard with a hammer as he made a delivery at Nationwide Building Society in Anstey, near Leicester.

Following an investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit – Serious Organised Crime team and forces including South Yorkshire Police, seven people were yesterday sentenced to a combined 46 years for robbery and money laundering.

DC Kevin Smith, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “This was the first cash in transit robbery in South Yorkshire in three years and full police resources were put into bringing the offenders to justice.

“The offenders, who had no links to Sheffield, had travelled from another county to commit this crime thinking they would be beyond the reach of the law.

“Working closely with Nottinghamshire Police we identified one of the suspects within a few days, and several weeks later we disrupted a criminal gang, who were determined to rob security guards delivering cash across the county.”

The gang were identified by officers after tampering with the containers the money was held in, triggering an invisible Smartfluid that covered the banknotes, allowing police to trace them as they spent it in the months following the raid.

Ashley Charles, 24, of Squires Avenue, Nottingham and Anton Sylvester, 25, of Leonard Street, Nottingham were sentenced to 12 years and eight years respectively for the Sheffield robbery.

Kyle Morgan, 25, of Potters Hollow, Nottingham and Issac McNual, 24, of Bonington Close, Nottingham, were sentenced to 10 years and 12 years respectively for the Sheffield and Leicester robberies.

Roxanne Wilson, 25, of Moon Crescent, Nottingham, received a nine month sentence suspended for two years for the criminal handling of property.

Daniel Monaghan, 25 of Northall Avenue, Nottingham was sentenced to 15 months for the criminal handling of property and an unrelated matter of disqualified driving.

Farren Melluish, 28, of Hallam Crescent East, Leicester, was sentenced to two years for possession of criminal property.

Charles and McNual were found guilty after trial. The other five had earlier pleaded guilty to various associated offences.