A seven-strong gang responsible for more than 40 burglaries across south London has been jailed.

The organised-crime group were sentenced to a combined total of 14 years’ imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court on Thursday, 4 July.

The gang consisted of men from Croydon, Wimbledon, Mitcham, Tooting, and Twickenham, and were linked by investigators to more than 40 burglaries across south London.

The men were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on July 4, after a four-month police investigation led by the Met’s Trident Proactive Team.

The court heard how the gang targeted affluent south London areas late at night during August and November 2018 to commit 47 burglaries in the space of just three months.

The thieves would break into the homes and target car keys and handbags before stealing the victims’ cars from driveways and nearby streets.

They worked systematically as part of a team using stolen vehicles to get from house to house and would swap stolen number plates between the vehicles to avoid being identified.

The professionalism of their offending resulted in almost no physical evidence being left behind.

The audacious criminals stole a mobility scooter from a property in Merton and were later seen by police riding the scooter as a joke.

An investigation was launched into the gang in August 2018 following a sharp increase in residential burglaries in Richmond, Twickenham and Merton.

Enquiries established that the men were responsible for the theft of 53 vehicles - worth around a total of £200,000, during the spate of residential burglaries across the two boroughs.

Jonathan Payne, Detective Sergeant said: “This gang targeted affluent areas of London in order to steal cars from innocent homeowners.

“They terrified the residents of south London during their burgling spree and I hope today’s sentencing gives the victims a measure of comfort and closure.”

“I hope today’s result acts as a deterrent to those involved in this type of criminality and reassures the public that police listen and take robust action.

“Career criminals have no place on the streets of London, and we will continue working night and day to put such audacious offenders behind bars and keep communities safe.”

The gang have been identified as:

Jayden Jones-McGilvray, 19, of Sheridan Road in Twickenham, who was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 28 November 2018. He pleaded guilty to both offences the following day.

McGilvray was sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment.

Kofi Yeboah, 24, of Belgrave Walk in Mitcham, was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 28 November 2018. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal the following day.

The charge of conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle will lay on file. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

A 17-year-old from Wimbledon was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 28 November 2018.

He pleaded guilty to the offences during the first day of trial on Monday, 29 April 2019.

He received a twelve-month referral order with a curfew for three months.

Brandon Lee Smith, 18 of New Addington, Croydon was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 28 November 2018.

He pleaded guilty to the offences on Thursday, 28 March 2019.

Lee Smith was sentenced to 24 months’ in a young offenders’ institute.

Timothy Forder, 19 of Dunmore Road, in Wimbledon was charged with conspiracy to commit a burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 5 December 2018. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods on Tuesday, 26 March 2019. He was given a 19-month sentence in a young offenders’ institute, suspended for 18 months, with conditions including 120 hours unpaid work.

Joe Louis Murphy 22 of Belgrave Road in South Norwood was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle on 28 December 2018. He pleaded guilty to the offences on Friday, 7 June and was sentenced to two years and eight months’ imprisonment.

Louis Sawyer, 24, of Boundary Road in Tooting, was charged with possession with intent to supply Class B drugs and possession of an offensive weapon on 28 November 2018.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply Class B drugs the following day and the defence he gave for possession of the offensive weapon was accepted by the prosecution. He was sentenced to a total of 14 months, suspended for 18 months with conditions, including a three-month curfew.