Three men have been jailed after robbing people’s phones and jewellery at various South London stations.
Elias Angulo Ruiz, 22, Starling Rodriguez Jose, 24 and Juan Martinez Vargas, 22, were imprisoned for a combined twelve years and seven months, at Inner London Crown Court on Friday, November 17.
A fourth defendant, Yoscar Lake, 22, was sentenced to eighteen months in prison suspended for two years.
Police said the group targeted “innocent” commuters at stations including Elephant & Castle, Tulse Hill and Sydenham.
In a statement, British Transport Police (BTP) said: “Over the course of six weeks in summer 2019, the group committed 14 robberies.
“In several of the robberies, they ripped gold chains from their victims’ necks.
“In one particularly violent robbery on board a train between Tulse Hill and Streatham, a victim was punched and kicked in the face. In this robbery, the group took a silver chain that was worth just £36.”
In another incident in September 2021, Angulo Ruiz tried to rob a man at knifepoint on a train between Nunhead and Elephant & Castle.
Using CCTV to identify the suspects, BTP was able to secure their convictions.
Elias Angulo Ruiz, 22, of Hammersmith, was sentenced to six years in prison.
Starling Rodriguez Jose, 24, of Canning Town, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
Juan Martinez Vargas, 22, of Ealing, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison.
Yoscar Lake, 22, of Thornton Heath, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
They were all convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery. Angulo Ruiz was convicted of an additional two counts of possession of a bladed article.
Detective Sergeant Tulin Akdam, investigating officer in the case, said: “Criminals like this should know that we’ll make sure they face justice for the crimes they inflict on innocent members of the public.
“This cowardly group worked together to intimidate and target passengers across South London. The rail network is covered by extensive CCTV, which we successfully used to prove that they were behind this crime spree.
“Our uniformed and plain-clothes teams patrol the rail network every day to deter robbery and make sure passengers have safe journeys. Fortunately, incidents like this are rare.
“If a robbery has just happened, always dial 999 – our officers will quickly deploy to your location and begin immediate enquiries to trace the culprits.”