UK court sentences Estonian robber to 19 years in prison
An Estonian criminal who masterminded a £900,000 armed robbery at a jewelers’ in Leeds in 2015 has been sentenced to 19 years in prison.
After he was found guilty of having conspired to rob Berry’s Store by a jury at Leeds Crown Court, Raigo Malm, 40, was sentenced to 19 years. Judge Geoffrey Marson said the evidence was overwhelming that Malm had been the organizer of the raid, although he had distanced himself from the premises when the robbery was actually carried out.
Three other Estonian men who actually committed the robbery in Leeds on Mar. 24 last year, and also at Watches of Switzerland in London the following day, were convicted by a jury in Leeds in December. Alar Kajurand, 44, and Rainis Kilk, 26, were both sentenced to 18 years, and Taimar Uibopuu, 30, was given a 15-year sentence.
According to the charges, the men robbed Berry’s in Leeds on March 24, 2015, and Watches of Switzerland in London a day later. In the Leeds robbery, Kajurand was caught on CCTV wearing a wig as he approached the security door before producing a gun as staff and security guard backed away. Watches worth £935,000 were stolen in the Leeds robbery. The court found that 64 of the watches were later recovered, but £450,000 pounds worth of watches remain missing.
Three members of the public who tackled the robbers as they fled the jewelers in Leeds helped to detain one of the criminals, which led to to the arrest of the others.
The robbery at Watches of Switzerland in Oxford Street, London, took place just after 6 p.m. on March 25 last year. Six Cartier watches worth just under £30,000 were stolen.
The three private citizens who held down Uibopuu until the arrival of the police, all from Leeds, were each awarded £750 from public funds for their actions. A security guard who intervened in the robbery in London also received the same reward.