ZIMBABWEAN ROBBERY KINGPIN CAGED FOR 13 YEARS OVER £150,000 LONDON PHONE HEISTS

A Zimbabwean crime boss who helped unleash a £150,000 mobile phone robbery rampage across London has been slapped with a crushing 13-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

Sammie Govera, 32, saw his criminal operation come crashing down when Metropolitan Police detectives pounced on June 9, 2025, as his gang prepared to strike an O2 store in Sutton.

The ruthless gang targeted six Three and O2 shops, threatening terrified workers, storming storerooms and smashing into safes to plunder expensive smartphones.

In one brazen Woolwich raid, the thieves made off with phones worth a staggering £30,000.

But their luck ran out when detectives, armed with covert surveillance, CCTV, forensic evidence and phone records, closed the net.

Govera’s younger accomplices were also hauled before the courts. Kevlin Duarte, 19, was jailed for 22 months, while Louis Pandanzyla, 18, escaped prison with an 18-month community order. A fourth defendant, a minor, received a youth rehabilitation order.

The police investigation secured 10 convictions, bringing the curtain down on a robbery network that had left shop workers terrified and retailers counting their losses.