Four men have been jailed for a combined 50 years after a violent robbery at a cannabis farm in a home in Strood, Kent, as first reported by My London. Kent Police said the gang, who wore masks and carried a knife, were caught less than an hour after the raid.

Officers were alerted to the robbery at a house in Weston Road at about 2.40am on 25 November last year, when four men were seen loading cannabis plants into a BMW car and a van.

Chase through the Blackwall Tunnel

Within minutes, patrol officers found the two vehicles apparently travelling in convoy in Rochester. After about 12 miles the vehicles split up. Police followed the BMW towards Bexley along the A2, and patrol cars boxed it in shortly after it went through the Blackwall Tunnel.

Three men in the car were arrested at the scene. The van also went through the tunnel and was stopped at a red light. Its driver tried to escape but was caught. Police said both vehicles were full of cannabis plants.

The victim and the sentences

The victim was asleep when the gang broke into his home. Kent Police said he was threatened with a knife and attacked, suffering facial injuries and a fractured wrist, and his home was ransacked.

The court heard that one of the men had sent messages saying he needed "as many soldiers as possible". The sentences were:

  • Tyrone Harris, 36, of Lansdowne Drive, Hackney: 14 years
  • Sion Williams, 38, of no fixed address: 13 years
  • Khyrie Hylton, 35, of no fixed address: 12 years
  • Elliott Bonney, 35, of Albion Drive, Hackney: 11 years

Detective Constable Emma Laimbeer, the investigating officer, described the offence as "a meticulously planned robbery" in which the men "targeted a vulnerable victim in his own home". She said the immediate response of patrol officers meant all four were caught "red-handed" with the stolen plants.

She added that the case was built on CCTV footage, mobile phone data, forensic evidence and witness accounts. In her words, the sentences show that those who commit violent offences in Kent "can expect to be identified, arrested and brought before the courts".

Background

Cannabis is a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Growers of illegal cannabis are sometimes targeted by other criminals, who steal plants knowing the occupants are unlikely to report the theft. In this case the robbery was reported and prosecuted as a violent offence against the occupant.