Five men have been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court after a Metropolitan Police Flying Squad investigation into a string of smash-and-grab robberies at designer stores in the West End, in which the damage to shops and the goods stolen came to more than £1 million.
Three of the five received immediate prison terms totalling eight years and six months. The other two were handed suspended sentences. All five had pleaded guilty to their respective charges earlier this year, and all five were sentenced on 29 October.
The gang carried out five robberies over a three-month period, targeting high-value fashion stores. They drove to prominent shopping destinations, including Bond Street and Sloane Square, and used vehicles to ram the fronts of high-end designer shops such as YSL, Bottega Veneta, END and Lora Piana. Once inside, they grabbed as much as they could carry and fled, using stolen vehicles and mopeds in an attempt to avoid detection.
Five raids in three months
The offences, as set out by the Met, were:
- Attempted robbery at YSL, Bond Street, on 11 November 2025
- Robbery at Bottega Veneta, Sloane Street, on 17 November 2025
- Robbery at END Clothing, Broadwick Street, on 1 December 2025
- Robbery at Lora Piana, Sloane Street, on 16 December 2025
- Robbery at YSL, Bond Street, on 23 January 2026
The single biggest haul came on 16 December 2025, when more than 105 items were taken from a luxury store, including handbags, clothing and boots. Alongside a coat costing more than £30,000, the total value of the products stolen that day came to nearly £385,000.
Detectives say the gang would often have to sell the stolen goods for far less than they were worth. In one case uncovered by officers, messages showed that Max Tyson received only £1,800 for items worth more than £30,000.
How the gang was caught
Flying Squad officers carried out an extensive review of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition footage, alongside forensic analysis, and were able to prove the group used multiple stolen vehicles to carry out the offences. Officers also tracked the offenders five miles across London despite their use of stolen vehicles.
Two pieces of evidence proved decisive. One of the vehicles used to ram a shop was insured to Olivier Ndayizeie, and DNA found at a scene was identified as that of Max Tyson.
Enquiries then led officers to a shop in Cornwall, where Tyson had travelled hundreds of miles in an attempt to avoid detection. His attempt failed: officers found receipts in his name showing stolen property had been re-sold for thousands of pounds to the shop.
Tyson and Ryan Brough were arrested on the same day as the last robbery, 23 January 2026. A manhunt followed, and Sonny Stringer was arrested on 26 January. Harry Johnson and Olivier Ndayizeie were identified as part of the group and arrested on 10 February.
Detective Constable Will Wigzell, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “These robberies have a lasting impact on businesses, their staff and the wider community, affecting livelihoods as well as causing significant emotional and financial harm through the threats, violence and intimidation involved.”
He added that the group had carefully planned its offences, using stolen vehicles and mopeds in an attempt to evade detection, but that Flying Squad detectives had identified them and brought them to justice. “These sentences mark a significant milestone in what has been a detailed and determined investigation,” he said.
Who got what
Max Tyson, 26, of St Peters Street, Islington, was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary on 29 May. Ryan Brough, 34, of Courtney Road, Islington, received the same sentence — three years and four months — after pleading guilty to the same two counts on the same day.
Harry Johnson, 25, of Tilney Gardens, Islington, was jailed for one year and ten months after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods on 27 July.
The two suspended sentences went to Sonny Stringer, 29, of Essex Road, Islington, who received 22 months’ imprisonment suspended for 24 months after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods on 23 June, and Olivier Ndayizeie, 36, of Freegrove Road, Islington, who received 36 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for a year after pleading guilty to encouraging or assisting an offence on 9 September.
The distinction matters: while headlines may focus on the three men sent straight to prison, five people in total were sentenced over the raids, and the two suspended terms form part of the court’s response.
The Met says it remains committed to tackling offences that have a real impact on businesses and communities, including ram raids. As wider background, the force says neighbourhood crime dropped by 15.6 per cent in the last financial year — equivalent to more than 40,000 fewer offences — driven largely by reductions in theft from the person (down 21.4 per cent), vehicle crime (down 13.9 per cent) and personal robbery (down 13 per cent).
Elsewhere in the capital, a man has been arrested over a Woolwich shooting, police have named two men they want to speak to in connection with a Bethnal Green rape inquiry, and a Battersea man has been found guilty over the death of a pensioner he punched in Balham.
The Metropolitan Police is the source of the facts in this article, and its full statement can be read on the Met’s news site.
