A man who carried out a string of gun-point robberies in and around Croydon has been jailed.

Price Dafiaghor, 33, of no fixed abode, was previously found guilty of three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, four counts of possession of an imitation firearm and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon at Inner London Crown Court.

On December 19 he was sentenced to 15 years with an extended licence of 18 years at the same court.

On December 28, 2018, police were flagged down by members of the public in Brixton to reports of a man believed to be in possession of a gun.

The court heard that after entering a takeaway restaurant on Brixton Road, Dafiaghor got into an altercation with another customer.

He then left the venue, went to his car and retrieved a firearm wrapped in a balaclava before returning to the restaurant.

When the altercation escalated, staff and customers spilled out of the shop, stopping passing police vehicles for help.

CCTV played in court showed the defendant calmly leaving the shop, taking the firearm from inside his trousers and placing it in a nearby wheelie bin.

He was detained shortly afterwards in a nearby newsagents and the weapon was quickly recovered.

A subsequent investigation by officers from the Met’s Flying Squad linked Dafiaghor to four armed robberies.

In each of the four cases, Dafiaghor had entered a supermarket, threatened staff with a firearm and forced them to hand over cash from a safe or till before fleeing the scene.

In some of the robberies, the defendant had taken staff members out of the stores at gun point in order to aid his escape.

Details of the offences:

September 5, 2018: Co-op, Streatham Vale, SW16. Approximately £3,000 stolen

October 24, 2018: Tesco, Crown Lane, SW16. Approximately £2,000 stolen

November 13, 2018: Tesco, London Road, CR0. No money taken

November 29, 2018: Co-op, Fairview Road, SW16. Approximately £8,000 stolen.

Detective Constable Mark Waker, from the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “Dafiaghor is a dangerous individual who carried out these violent raids over a number of months and showed a complete disregard for the staff and public who were caught up in these attacks.

“As well as significant financial loss, these incidents left the victims involved traumatised and we want to pay tribute to those who assisted the investigation.

“We are pleased he has now been brought to justice and faces a considerable time to reflect on his reckless actions.”