Five men have been jailed after a man was stabbed to death during a robbery in east London.
Dwaine Morrison, 34, was jailed for 33 years at the Old Bailey on Friday for the murder of 30-year-old Imran Isat.
Salah’din Kerbouba, 28, Ronnie Haydon, 32, Paul Higgins, 36 and Dominic Diop, 33, were each sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in connection with the incident.
The court heard how Isat was watching television with friends at his house on Springfield Drive in Ilford on March 19, 2022.
At around 1.15am the five men burst through the front door and charged upstairs to the living room. Mr Isat tried to keep the door closed as the men attempted to force their way in.
One of the robbers stabbed Mr Isat through the gap, forcing him backwards.
The men, armed with knives and machetes, forced their way into the room and shouted: “Where’s the stuff?”
Mr Isat said something like “don’t hurt me – take what you want”, but one of the robbers stabbed him, while another struck one of his friends on the head with the flat blade of a knife.
One of the robbers then shouted “we’ve found it”, and “let’s go” before they then fled the scene.
CCTV later recorded Higgins leaving with a bag and a suitcase and then going back inside to get a second suitcase.
Haydon also left carrying a bag. None of the defendants ever told police what was in the bags and police were never able to uncover what they stole.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Mr Isat was later pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination found that he had been stabbed five times. A fatal wound pierced through his chest and penetrated his heart.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime (homicide) began a murder investigation and it soon became apparent that the robbery had been planned.
CCTV and doorbell cameras showed some members of the gang arriving earlier and keeping the house under surveillance.
It is believed that the gang were after drugs, or money, or both, and they had armed themselves with knives and machetes in order to carry out the crime.
Members of the gang had arrived in two cars and both cars were later found to have been using false plates.
However, the gang were traced through extensive CCTV work and phone records that showed their movements.
The five men were all arrested on dates in July 2022 and all refused to answer police questions.
They were charged with robbery and murder and three - Diop, Higgins and Morrison - pleaded guilty to robbery but not guilty to murder.
Haydon admitted he was at the scene, but denied robbery as he stated he did not use or threaten violence.
Kerbouba was the only one who denied he was ever at the scene and he pleaded not guilty to murder and robbery. However, after hearing all of the evidence, the jury found all five guilty of their role in the attack.
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, from the Met’s Specialist Crime, said: “This was a planned robbery by a gang who had pre-armed themselves with knives and machetes. Members of the gang were recorded scoping out the house prior to the assault and the cars they used were on false plates.
“The weapons they brought with them clearly show these men were ready to use violence, and murder was the result. This killing was pointless, it is probable that when the fatal stab wound was inflicted, Mr Isat was on the ground and not offering any resistance. It was a callous act of brutality that took his life. We may never know what the gang stole, but it was surely not worth killing a man while he was helpless on the ground.
“Despite their efforts to avoid detection, the extensive police inquiry was able to identify and arrest those responsible. These men were found guilty for their roles in the attack and will now spend years in prison having to face the consequences of their acts of violence.”
