London's "most notorious phone thief," Sonny Stringer, has admitted to handling stolen goods connected to a £500,000 ram-raiding spree targeting luxury retailers in the capital's West End. Stringer, 30, appeared at Inner London Crown Court on June 24, 2026, entering a guilty plea to one count of handling stolen goods.
The admitted offenses relate to items stolen from Bottega Veneta on Old Bond Street on November 17, 2025, and from Loro Piana, a luxury fashion brand near Harrods, on December 16, 2025. Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove stated that while Stringer was not directly involved in the raids themselves, he was aware they were planned.
This plea follows a series of high-value smash-and-grab burglaries carried out between November 2025 and January 2026. Balaclava-clad thieves used stolen vehicles, including a black Toyota SUV, to smash through storefront windows of high-end shops such as Yves Saint Laurent on Old Bond Street. During these raids, thieves stole luxury handbags valued at up to £30,000 each, alongside other designer goods. The total value of the property stolen in the spree exceeds £500,000, with further damages to premises estimated in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Two other individuals, Ryan Brough, 32, and Max Tyson, 25, both from Islington, have already pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary in connection with the same incidents. These offenses occurred between November 11 and January 24. Prosecutors have described the burglaries as involving stolen cars deliberately reversed through premises' windows, followed by suspects quickly entering stores to steal displayed items.
Stringer has a prior record for similar offenses. In 2024, he was jailed for two years after using an e-bike at speeds up to 50 mph to steal 24 phones in a single morning. He is currently awaiting sentencing for the handling stolen goods charge, which will occur after the conclusion of the trial for two other men implicated in the burglaries later this year. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad had been investigating the series of raids for months.
Stringer, who resides in Islington, is expected to face sentencing later in the year. The court proceedings have revealed the coordinated nature of the crimes, which involved the use of stolen vehicles, mopeds, and high-powered e-bikes to facilitate the thefts and quick escapes.