A stock photo of a crime scene (Alamy/PA)
Three men have been charged following a series of burglaries across London, the Met Police has said.
Officers launched an investigation following 17 night time robberies across the capital and the south of England from November 2021 to August 2022.
In many of the offences, the suspects used stolen vehicles to “ram raid” commercial premises, often ripping out ATMs or cashboxes before leaving the scene.
Eight offences were committed between November 14, 2021 and December 29, 2021. The remainder were committed between January 29, 2022 and August 10, 2022; the latter being a ram raid at an Esso Tesco Express in Uxbridge.
In the early hours of Thursday, 18 August, the group allegedly stole a Range Rover in the Reading area which they drove, along with a stolen Alpha Romeo, to an Esso petrol station and Tesco Express outlet in Buckingham Drive.
They carried out a ram raid of the premises at around 2.30am on August 19, but three men were detained by Met officers at or near to the location. A fourth man fled from the scene.
The three men - ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ - were found to be in possession of stolen cashboxes and various tools and weapons. They were arrested and taken into police custody.
A fifth man was arrested later on 19 August in the Hounslow area. He was also taken into police custody and subsequently released under investigation.
On Friday, 19 August, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ were charged with non-residential burglary on 18 August in Reading and with conspiracy to commit burglary between November 2021 and August 2022.
They will appear in custody at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 22 August.
