Shropshire Star

Robbery pair jailed for violent £21,000 raids

Two men have been jailed for a total of 18 years after robbing a security guard and a taxi driver of more than £21,000 in two violent attacks in Shropshire.

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Rafaqat Hussain, left, and Mohammed Maskeen

Rafaqat Hussain and Mohammed Maskeen donned balaclavas before attacking G4S guard Roy Holtsee outside the One Stop shop in Arleston, Wellington.

They were joined by another man, Raheel Ahmed, from Huddersfield, as the guard was punched, kicked and struck with a baton being carried by one of the masked men, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard. Mr Paul Spratt, prosecuting, said the guard eventually let go of a cash cassette containing £20,000 he was carrying to fill up the shop's ATM machine and the three men fled with it in a blue Skoda car on April 2 this year.

The prosecutor said a month later, on May 5 and May 6, taxi driver Abdul Rahman, from Wellington, was frogmarched to cashpoints and ordered to withdraw cash by Hussain and a gang of "at least six other men".

Knuckledusters and knives were produced and Mr Rahman was also ordered to hand over cash from his house to a total of £1,300 over two days, the court heard.

Mr Spratt said the demands were made when Mr Rahman returned from Manchester, where he had been ordered by Hussain to drive a group of friends which included Maskeen.

Hussain, 30, of Urban Gardens, Wellington, and Maskeen, 19, of Regent Street, Wellington, both Telford, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery at previous court hearings.

Ahmed, also 19, from Huddersfield, had pleaded guilty to one count of robbery on the security guard.

He appeared at Shrewsbury to also be sentenced on unrelated matters having also admitted illegal importation of 20 stun guns from Hong Kong, illegal possession of pepper spray and illegal possession of a class B drug.

Judge Robin Onions, sentencing, said that he had no option but to pass long custodial sentences to act as a deterrent.

Hussain was sentenced to eight years and eight months; Maskeen to nine years and four months; and Ahmed to six years.

Mr Paul Smith, for Hussain, said although his client was an "irritant" to police these robbery offences were "completely out of his league".

Mr Daniel White, for Maskeen, said although his client already had a lengthy record for violent offences, he had in fact made "remarkable" progress since being on remand in prison.

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