FOUR MEN WHO staged a series of ‘fake’ robberies at London museums last year have been jailed.
The men staged the robberies at the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Gallery on 5 July 2015.
The first prank, at the National Portrait Gallery happened at 3.30pm on that date. Five men burst into the gallery and began shouting and screaming.
The men had entered the gallery wearing masks and carrying artwork props which they promptly left with.
The incident is captured in dramatic CCTV footage which shows panic taking hold of the museum’s patrons following the arrival of the men.
The men proceeded to repeat the offence at the Tate Gallery later that afternoon.
Four of the five men were arrested on the same day and pleaded guilty to the public order offences of causing fear and provoking violence.
The four (27-year-old Daniel Jarvis, 20-year-old Endit Ferizolli, 29-year-old Ebenezer Mensah, and 23-year-old Helder Gomes) were given sentences of between 12 and 20 weeks each.
The fifth man, 31-year-old Dan Vahn Lee was jailed in March for 12 weeks for his role in the initial National Portrait Gallery incident.
“The actions of these five men was outrageous,” said Detective Constable Anthony Parke of the Metropolitan Police.
To go into busy public places wearing masks shouting and screaming at a time of heightened awareness of the terrorism threat facing the UK is deplorable.
The group terrified those visiting the galleries. It is only by pure chance that no one was injured or suffered serious health issues as they fled in what the judge described as a stampede. All five men now have a number of weeks in jail to consider just how unfunny their stunts actually were.
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