Four men have been jailed for a total of 50 years after a cannabis plant robbery in Kent led to a 12-mile police chase through Bexley and into London.
Tyrone Harris, Khyrie Hylton, Elliott Bonney and Sion Williams were convicted of robbery following a break-in on Weston Road in Strood in the early hours of 25 November last year.
The men were seen carrying cannabis plants from the property into a waiting car and van before fleeing the scene.
Kent Police quickly identified a grey BMW and a van travelling in convoy along Watling Street in Rochester. The vehicles split up after 12 miles, with officers pursuing the BMW towards Bexley via the A2.
The car was stopped shortly after passing through the Blackwall Tunnel, and Harris, Bonney and Williams were arrested at the scene. The van continued into London and was stopped at a red light. Hylton attempted to flee on foot but was detained.
A search of the vehicles uncovered several cannabis plants. At the property, officers found the victim seriously injured. He told police the men had broken in while he was asleep, threatened him with a knife and assaulted him. He was treated in a London hospital for facial injuries and a fractured wrist.
The men ransacked the house before loading the plants into the van and leaving. A trail of cannabis plants and soil was found along Weston Road.
Mobile phone evidence revealed messages planning the robbery, with Harris saying he needed “as many soldiers as possible”. CCTV showed both vehicles arriving at the property and transporting bags and large plants. Clothing seized from the suspects was later found to have the victim’s blood on it.
All four men were found guilty following a trial and sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court late last month.
Tyrone Harris, 36, and Elliott Bonney, 35, both from Hackney, were jailed for 14 years and 11 years respectively. Khyrie Hylton, 35, was jailed for 12 years, while Sion Williams, 38, was jailed for 13 years.
It is the latest in a series of recent smuggling cases involving London men, after an east London man was jailed for his part in a £13.8 million cannabis smuggling operation.
