Robber who threatened guard with hammer and stole £14k identified after likened to Cat from Red Dwarf
A man who threatened a security guard with a hammer and stole £14,000 was tracked down after the victim likened him to Cat from Red Dwarf.
Usman Ali, from Green Lane in Small Heath, threatened the Loomis driver with a hammer outside a Wickes store last July and made off with a cash box containing around £14,000.
The following day staff at a branch of Ladbrokes just yards from Ali's home reported a man ploughing hundreds of pounds into gaming machines, notes that the eagle-eyed employees spotted were stained with dye.
Officers swooped and immediately recognised Ali as the man wanted for the 26 July robbery in Stratford Road, Hall Green.
When Ladbrokes staff emptied the gaming machine Ali was using they discovered £480 in dye-stained notes, whilst arresting officers found another £400 in tainted cash on the 26-year-old.
Scientific analysis of the contaminated notes confirmed they'd come from the stolen cash box ? and at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday Ali was jailed for eight years after being found guilty of conspiracy to rob.
Ali claimed he had got the cash after selling off car parts but couldn't name the buyer or provide a contact number.
West Midlands Police Detective Constable Andrew Mitcham, said: "Ali was at the bookies with the sole purpose of getting rid of the dye-stained notes and taking his winnings receipt to the counter to get clean notes. It was effectively quick-fire money laundering.
"The victim gave us a distinctive description and said his attacker looked like 'Cat' from Red Dwarf ? and in court prosecutors presented an image of the character to the jury to illustrate the comparison.
"Ali has rightly been handed a long prison term: although he didn't use the hammer in anger, he threatened violence against the security driver and left him fearing the threats would be carried out.
"We were able to present strong evidence to the court which highlighted his lies to police and led to the jury unanimously finding him guilty."
At the time of the robbery Ali was on licence having been released from prison part-way through a conviction for supplying Class A drugs. He was arrested as part of a Birmingham-wide crackdown on drug dealing by West Midlands Police.
He must now serve the remainder of that sentence ? which runs until September 2016 ? before his eight year robbery term begins
