Gang who burgled Hardy’s Gunsmiths caught after man ordered takeaway from the crime scene

The burglary happened at Hardy’s Gunsmiths on Alderson Road, Sheffield, at around 12.50am on Friday, April 3, 2020.

Four men went to the firearms dealership and stole guns and ammunition.

South Yorkshire Police identified the men as Musfer Jabbar, Shabaz Ismail, Andrew Coy and Andrew Cross.

CCTV from the area showed a distinct vehicle that turned out to be rented by 35-year-old Coy

Checks showed the vehicle being driven by Coy, to and from the scene of the burglary in company with Cross, 40, loaded with stolen items to a property on Wharncliffe Avenue.

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

Ismail, 22, and Jabbar, 22, stayed in the shop but enquiries and CCTV showed Jabbar making a phone call.

Phone checks confirmed that he was placing an order with a local takeaway for two lamb burger meals.

This placed them at the scene of the burglary.

The men were jailed at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, December 15.

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

Coy, 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, of 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 relating to other matters and jailed for eight years and one month.

Jabbar, of no fixed address, was found guilty of burglary, possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession with intent to supply class A drugs and jailed for nine years.

Detective Constable Scott Davies, from the Armed Crime Team, said: “This burglary understandably caused a lot of concern at the time and months of work by our team and other specialist departments have thankfully led to those responsible now spending time behind bars.

“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.

“Officers from different areas within the force spent an extensive amount of time piecing together exactly what happened and who was responsible. This included hours of CCTV checks which thankfully later led us to arresting and successfully charging this group.

“Cracking down on those possessing and using firearms is one of our priorities and we are committed to removing them from our streets in order to make South Yorkshire a safer place to work, visit and stay. Though a lot of this work may not be visible for obvious reasons, we are working every day to find those responsible.

To date, almost half of the firearms stolen have been recovered with some in West Yorkshire and London.