19-Year-Old Nigerian Teenager Jailed A Combined 30 Years Over Multiple Acid Attack Robberies (Photos)

 

An Ilford teenager has been jailed as his gang-of-three were locked up for a combined 30 years after carrying out 19 knife and acid attack robberies.

 

The trio of Mohammed Ali, Antoine Mensah and Nigerian, Miracle Osundo carried out a series of ’horrific’ attacks between April 26 and May 14 targeting taxi drivers and people selling valuables online, using knives, and strong acids and alkalis to rob and maim victims.

 

One victim described the gang’s violence as ’excessive’ after they kept pouring acid over them, despite having already handed over the contents of their pockets.

 

Mohammed Ali, 17, of Ilford, can be named after the judge presiding over the case at Wood Green Crown Court decided it was in the public’s interest to lift reporting restrictions.

 

Ali was jailed on Tuesday, September 11, alongside Antoine Mensah, 21, of Commerce Road, Haringey, and Miracle Osondu, 19, of Constance Street, Newham.

 

On April 26 the trio committed their first offence, robbing a taxi driver in Enfield and threatening to stab him.

 

The gang quickly escalated their level of violence, physically restraining taxi drivers on two occasions, while threatening them with knives.

 

Ali, Mensah and Osundu then began to target people selling and buying mobile phones using Gumtree, an online market place.

 

On one occasion on May 11, the trio arranged to meet a 40-year-old male in High Road, Barnet, under the pretence of purchasing a phone from him.

 

Mensah and Osondu sprayed ammonia in the victim’s face, tackling him to the ground and stealing his phone.

 

The victim was left with serious eye injuries with irritation, burning and permanent impact on his vision. Police described the psychological impact on the victim as ’considerable and ongoing’.

 

The next day, the gang – pretending to be selling a phone – arranged to meet a 49-year-old male in Meadow Close, Barking.

 

They sprayed acid in the his face before stealing his money from him, then returned and sprayed him again before making off.

 

The victim sustained life-changing injuries, losing the majority of the vision in one eye, causing him to have to leave his previous employment.

 

On May 14, officers tracked the gang to a taxi travelling from Enfield to Ilford – en-route to commit another robbery.

 

Police, with the assistance of armed officers, swooped and arrested the trio in Mortlake Road, Ilford.

 

They were found in possession of a bottle of PH1 acid, a 22cm long knife, almost £2,000 in cash, balaclavas and multiple phones.

 

One of the victims, who suffered life-changing injuries and did not want to be named, described not wanting friends to visit the hospital, as the injuries would upset them.

 

 

The victim said: “The initial injuries were that my skin was burnt all over, even in my mouth and on my tongue.

 

Ali was sentenced to eight years, extended to 12 years, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.

 

He will serve a minimum of five years and four months in prison.

 

Mensah was sentenced to 13 years, extended to 17 years, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.

 

He will serve a minimum of 8 years and 8 months in prison.

 

Osondu was sentenced to 11 years, extended to 15, in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob comprising 19 counts of robbery as well as a planned robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.

 

He will serve a minimum of seven years and four months in prison.

 

 

Detective constable James Rush, said: “These males appeared to feel no guilt over their actions.