London's 'most notorious phone thief' admits handling stolen goods from £500,000 ram raid spree in the West End

By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:17, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 14:25, 24 June 2026 London's 'most notorious phone thief' has confessed to handling stolen goods during a £500,000 smash-and-grab spree in the capital's West End.  In 2024, Sonny Stringer, 30, was jailed for two years after using an e-bike at speeds of up to 50mph, stealing just 24 phones in one single morning.  Today at Inner London Crown Court, Stringer admitted to handling stolen goods after a gang stole £500,000 worth of luxury items in a series of ram-raids.   Balaclava-clad thieves were filmed clearing shelves of Yves Saint Laurent in Old Bond Street in the early hours of January 23.  The thieves swiped high-value handbags worth up to £30,000 a piece after using a black Toyota SUV to smash their way through the storefront window.   Ryan Brough, 32, and Max Tyson, 25, were arrested later the same day and have since pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary. Stringer admitted one count of handling stolen goods in relation to goods stolen from Bottega Veneta on Old Bond Street on November 17, 2025.  The charge is also in relation to stolen goods from Loro Piana, a luxury Italian fashion brand near Harrods, on December 16. Michael Bisgrove, prosecuting, said Stringer was not involved in the raids but knew they were going to take place. Stringer, of Islington, will face sentence following the conclusion of the trial of two other men involved in the burglaries later this year. London 's 'most notorious phone snatcher' Sonny Stringer, 28, from Islington, confessed to handling stolen goods during a £500,000 smash-and-grab spree in the capital's West End Burglars stole £500,000 worth of designer goods during a series of 'smash and grab' raids on luxury London retailers such as Yves Saint Laurent on Bond Street (pictured), a court heard Tyson and Brough, also of Islington, earlier admitted to two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary between November 11 and January 24. At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Gitana Megvine said the offences relate to a series of ‘high value smash and grab commercial burglaries.’ Five raids were carried out with a stolen car being driven from Islington to central London, in tandem with moped and high-powered E-bikes. Ms Megvine said: ‘Each of the cases of offending involves a vehicle which was stolen deliberately reversing through the windows of the premises. ‘The suspects enter the store and steal as many items as possible that are on display before leaving the scene. ‘The total value of the property stolen is now in excess of £500,000. ‘The full cost of the damage caused has not yet been established, but we believe it amounts to hundreds of thousands of pounds.’ Detectives from the Met’s elite Flying Squad had been investigating a series of raids on luxury retailers for months. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.