Video shows the moment bungling burglars who were trying to break into a cannabis factory were caught by police after scrambling onto the rooftop in a bid to escape.
The raiders can be seen walking across a roof dressed all in black and wearing balaclavas when they were caught by officers after a drone and CCTV cameras helped to locate them.
They were from an gang of nine armed with knives and crowbars who broke into a property housing a huge £134,000 drug crop in an ‘orchestrated hit’ in Folkestone, Kent.
A member of the public called the police at 5.35am after witnessing a man who was believed to be ‘minding’ the drugs, falling from a roof during the raid. He was later taken to a hospital and treated for his injuries.
Police arrived at the scene and put a stop to the theft. Five of the raiders escaped arrest by running off but Abdulkadir Abdi, 28, who was caught in the courtyard nearby and tasered to a stop, a court was told.
The three men, Liam Walker, Leo Joseph and Tony Kelly, were filmed during a 30-minute ‘negotiation’ with police. Eventually, they accept defeat and followed the police down one-by-one into the property through a roof-top window to be arrested, KentOnline reported.
A police officer can be seen standing with his body half-out of a window, guiding the men along and offering his hand to help them to safety.
Tape is shown the street below after the area was cordoned off when the police busted the raiders. Police vans and cars were also lining the street nearby.
They were sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court along with another man from their group who had been caught involved in raiding a property housing cannabis crops on October 20, 2023.
The court heard how a group of nine attempted to carry out the burglary and were carrying knives and a crowbar.
Walker, 30, Kelly, 27, Joseph, 26 and Abdi were all given two-year suspended prison sentences.
The Recorder, Amy Nicholson, sentenced Walker to 16 months, Kelly to 13 and a half months, Joseph to 12 months and Abdi to 18 months.
According to Kent Online, she said: ‘I hope I don’t live to regret that. This is an opportunity to make something of your lives.
‘You are all still young. I don’t know what on earth possessed you to do what you did. It could have had extreme consequences.
‘There is only one opportunity for you now. Take it.’
All four of the men must complete 150 hours of unpaid work, attend rehabilitation sessions and have six months to pay £150 to cover court costs.