An investigation into an organised crime group who dressed as police officers while they raided a rival’s house in Peterborough is due to appear on national television tomorrow morning (Tuesday 22 October).
The work of detectives from the force’s northern Acquisitive Crime Team (ACT) to catch the group within hours of the heist will be highlighted on this week’s Crimewatch Caught programme at 10.45am on BBC One.
In August 2022, a group of five men – Olsi Cakoni, Florin Doci, Tom Dodaj, Malesio Gjonaj and one who remains unknown – posed as police officers and armed themselves with guns, hammers, and crowbars while they forced their way into the home which had been used to stash large amounts of cash.
The lead detective in the case features on the show explaining the “high-level sophistication of the job” with surveillance cameras, crowbars, fake police outfits, firearms and some significant sentences handed out at the end of it, being “the kind of thing that you really join the job for”.
Using police footage and dramatic reconstruction, Crimewatch Caught re-tells the story of how the force’s quick response to catch those responsible paid off.
The episode features interviews with the detectives involved in catching the gang and also shocking CCTV of the raid.
Crimewatch Caught is broadcast on BBC One at 10.45am every weekday this week and next. It is also available on BBC iPlayer for seven days.
A clip of the programme can be viewed and downloaded from the force’s YouTube channel here – https://youtu.be/bVmXWdb7ki4
REPORT FROM 2023
Members of an organised crime group who dressed as police officers while they raided a rival’s house in Peterborough have been jailed for a total of more than 50 years.
Police were called at just gone 4am on 4 August last year with reports of a disturbance at a house in Sheringham Way, Orton Longueville.
A group of five men – Olsi Cakoni, Florin Doci, Tom Dodaj, Malesio Gjonaj and one who remains unknown – posed as police officers and armed themselves with guns, hammers, and crowbars while they forced their way into the home which had been used to stash large amounts of cash.
The five men left the house with a large bag containing what is believed to be a large amount of cash and class A drugs, climbing garden fences, and dropping some of the weapons and police uniform, which was later recovered by police.
A white caddy van the group arrived at the raid in, was dumped in Peterborough and later recovered by police who found some of the fake police uniform in the back, along with zip ties, a remote CCTV camera and two firearms – one of which was an imitation, the other a viable, loaded handgun.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras picked up a white VW Golf and a red Seat Arona travelling in convoy from 6.30am down the A1 into London, with the men’s phones’ movements matching those of the cars.
Enquiries revealed Arjada Lleshi, girlfriend of one of the men, had arrived in the UK at Luton Airport on 1 August and hired the red Seat Arona.
A marker was placed on the vehicle which showed it moving between London, Essex, and South Wales later in the day on 4 August after the raid.
Doci, Cakoni and Malesio Gjonaj, were stopped in the Seat on the A406 north circular driving towards Wembley and arrested.
Around the same time, the white VW Golf was stopped in Surrey with Dodaj as the sole occupant, who was also arrested. Within the glovebox was £6,000 in cash.
Lleshi was intercepted by officers from the Acquisitive Crime Team (ACT) at Luton Airport later that evening, about to catch a flight back to Albania. She was found with £1,200 in cash in her handbag.
Detectives learnt how in the weeks leading up to the raid, the group had been carrying out surveillance on the address – where members of a rival OCG were living – including installing a covert camera on a neighbouring property.
A second woman, Aurela Marcu, was found to have been part of the surveillance and planning of the robbery, including purchasing of the police uniform.
She was arrested alongside her partner, Madion Gjonaj, at his home in Broomfield Avenue, Enfield, Greater London, on 6 October. He was found to be a main part of the conspiracy, organising the raid and co-ordinating the surveillance.
Following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court in June, a jury found all five men guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to threaten.
Both women were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary, they were cleared of firearms offences.
Madion Gjonaj also pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and Dodaj admitted possession of criminal property.
On Friday (18 August), they all appeared at Cambridge Crown Court where they were sentenced.
- Madion Gjonaj, 28, of Broomfield Avenue, Wood Green, Greater London – jailed for 11-and-a-half years
- Florin Doci, 26, of Station Road, Raleigh, Essex – jailed for nine years and four months
- Malesio Gjonaj, 22, of Belvoir Street, Hull – jailed for nine years
- Tomas Dodaj, 26, of Aldermans Hill, Hockley, Essex – jailed for nine years
- Olsi Cakoni, 26, of Sevington Road, Brent Cross, Greater London – jailed for nine years
- Aurela Marcu, 26, of Redgrave Close, Croydon, Greater London – jailed for two years
- Arjada Lleshi, 33, of Station Road, South Tottenham, Greater London – jailed for 20 months, suspended for two years
Detective Sergeant Rich Ellison, from the Acquisitive Crime Team, said: “I would like to reassure members of the public that while incidents of this nature are quite frightening, they are thankfully very rare in our county, and we believe this was an isolated incident.
“This shows just how far organised crime groups are willing to go to operate their illegal activity. We are relentless in our approach to tackling them and will do everything in our power to put them before the courts and ultimately in prison.”
