Brett Mullan
(Picture: Met Police)A serial robber who targeted a string of bookmakers in south London was arrested by Flying Squad police officers and jailed for 10 years.
Brett Mullan, 50, of Gravesend, “terrified” staff at bookmakers when he “demanded cash and made threats of serious violence”, Met Police said.
“Those people feared for their lives,” said Detective Constable Carl Stallabras.
Mullan carried out a series of armed robberies at bookmakers in Lee, Noorwood, Sutton and Crayford between April 4 and 24.
Met Police used CCTV of Mullan travelling on trains to track him down.
He was stopped on a train by a railway ticket inspector as he was making his way to Burnt Ash Road in Lee to carry out his second robbery. He provided his real name.
“A simple mistake on his way to the second offence was all we needed to track him down, and from there the wealth of evidence we obtained left him no choice but to plead guilty,” said Mr Stallabras.
Police gathered footage of Mullan carrying out the offences and he was arrested by Flying Squad officers on April 25 after leaving home.
The Flying Squad are the Met’s elite group of detectives tasked with tackling violent crime.
Detectives searched his home address and found a collapsible walking stick. After checking CCTV, it was discovered this was what he used to resemble a shotgun by concealing it within a carrier bag.
A total of £2,780 was stolen over the course of the robberies.
Mullan was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court after pleading guilty to five counts of robbery, and five counts of possessing an imitation firearm.
The offences took place in High Street, Sutton, on April 4, Burnt Ash Road in Lee on April 13 and 18, High Street in Norwood Junction on April 23 and Crayford Road on April 24.
