Two men jailed for knife raids at shops in Preston and Chorley

Two men who carried out knife point raids at four shops in Preston and Chorley, have both been jailed for 11 years.

The pair struck over a four-day period in November last year, targeting a shop in Avenham, Preston, on Monday 10^th November, and then a store in the Broadgate area of Preston, on Wednesday 12^th November.

The following evening, Thursday 13^th November, they targeted shops in Pall Mall, Chorley, and Brindle Street, Chorley, within a few minutes of one another.

Mustafa Safi and Adil Khan fled the area after the robberies but an investigation by Lancashire Police traced them to Kent where they were arrested on 20^th November.

The first offence happened around 7.30pm on 10^th November at the Premier Store on Avenham Lane, Preston.

Two men entered the shop, with Safi following a member of staff behind the till, pinning him against the wall and then pulling out a knife – telling him to open the till.

Khan joined them behind the counter and took around £500 cash from the till, before they both put 70 packets of cigarettes into a blue plastic carrier bag and left the shop.

CCTV showed the pair walking a short distance away from the shop with one of them carrying the blue bag.

On 12^th November, around 7.50pm, two men entered the Vanikas store on Langton Street, Broadgate.

Safi tried to push open the door into the till area, with Khan brandishing a knife. A store worker pushed the door to the till area shut, with the two men leaving the shop empty handed.

Just after 7pm on 13^th November, Safi and Khan targeted the Best One shop on Pall Mall, Chorley,

Safi went behind the counter and pulled out a knife, Khan remaining by the door. Safi grabbed around £200 from the till.

Soon after, they went into Go Local, Brindle Street, Chorley, Khan selecting a drink from the fridge and putting it on the counter.

Safi went behind the counter and threatened a member of staff with a knife, Khan joining him and was also in possession of a knife.

A customer entering the shop interrupted them and they fled without taking anything.

They were seen disposing of knives in a bin nearby, with their DNA later found on the knives.

Safi, 19, of no fixed address, and Khan, 20, formerly of Parker Street, Chorley, both pleaded guilty at a hearing in January to two offences of robbery, two offences of attempted robbery, and four offences of possession of a knife in a public place.

Returning to the dock at Preston Crown Court last Friday (29^th May) they were both sentenced to 11 years.

Detective Constable Sasha Smith-Hooke of Preston CID, said: “These two men carried out two robberies and two attempted robberies at knife point, targeting four different shops in a short space of time.

“They were both prepared to carry knives to commit their crimes, and these were terrifying experiences for the staff working in the shops.

“The use of knives or the threat to use them, will not be tolerated by Lancashire Police, and we will thoroughly investigate such offences to bring offenders to justice.’’