Sheffield: Gun shop gang caught after ordering takeaway

Clockwise from top left: Andrew Cross, Andrew Coy, Musfer Jabbar, Shabaz Ismail

A gang who stole firearms from a gun shop were caught when one used his mobile phone to order a takeaway from the scene.

The four men have been jailed for their part in the raid at Hardy's Gunsmiths in Sheffield on 3 April 2020.

Police said they were charged after a "meticulous" two-year investigation.

Andrew Cross, Andrew Coy and Shabaz Ismail, all from Sheffield, and Musfer Jabbar, of no fixed address, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court.

South Yorkshire Police said CCTV from the area showed Jabbar making a phone call, placing an order with a local takeaway for two lamb burger meals.

"This crucially placed them at the scene of the burglary," a force spokesman said.

Police said about half of the stolen firearms had so far been recovered

The CCTV footage also showed a distinct vehicle that turned out to have been rented by Coy.

The force said Coy and Cross drove it to and from the shop on Alderson Road and transported the stolen goods to an address on Wharncliffe Avenue.

The occupant of that property, a 34-year-old woman, was sentenced in November 2020 for handling stolen goods.

The force said almost half of the firearms stolen had been recovered in West Yorkshire and London. Anyone with information about the rest of them is being urged to contact the police.

'Insecure building'

Cross, 40, of Frog Walk, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to burglary, possession of firearm without a certificate and possession of a firearm when prohibited and was jailed for nine years.

Coy, 35, of Wood Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of a firearm without a certificate and was jailed for five years and 10 months.

Ismail, 22, Glover Road, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to burglary, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a firearm without a certificate and other weapon and drug offences and was jailed for eight years and one month.

Jabbar, 22, was found guilty of burglary, possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession with intent to supply class A drugs and was jailed for nine years.

Police said the owner of the business had since been fined £350 for failing to comply with conditions of registration as a firearms dealer, as he had left the address insecure.

Det Con Scott Davies, from the Armed Crime Team, said: "This was a burglary where Ismail and Jabbar took advantage of an insecure building and arranged for the guns to be removed, resulting in a number of firearms potentially ending up in the wrong hands, with a number still at large and possibly on the country's streets."