Two members of a London gang have had their sentences increased following a referral by the Solicitor General
Two men in a South London-based gang have had their sentences increased after the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP referred the case to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
The court heard details of the ‘WoolyO’ gang operating in Woolwich, South London. The gang were involved in a long running feud with another London gang which was played out through social media posts and videos, violence and drill music published online.
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Essex Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and by the Metropolitan Police Trident Crime Command launched investigations into the WoolyO gang after three men agreed to meet WoolyO members in Aveley, Essex, to purchase some phones on the evening of Monday 20 November 2023.
However, the men were robbed of £4,000 cash and one victim was struck by one of the gang members holding a handgun, causing the loaded magazine to fall to the ground. When officers arrived at the scene, the suspects had gone but the same magazine was found.
The following morning, officers carrying out further enquiries returned to the scene where they located gang member Bryan Aidoo (19). He was found to be in possession of a zombie knife and arrested.
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A mobile phone seized from Aidoo contained a high volume of criminal material referencing gang violence. This included a video, featuring a fellow associate of the gang, Roqeeb Ladeaga (23), where bullets were assigned to named individuals from other London gangs.
Messages were found celebrating the shooting of a rival gang member, discussing how to retrieve the handgun magazine lost at the robbery, and pressurising the victim of the robbery to withdraw his support for the prosecution. Footage showed the group handling firearms and referring to its criminal use.
The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said:
Detective Inspector Yoni Adler, Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “In upholding the law, justice must be served - especially when firearms are involved.
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On 28 March 2025 at Basildon Crown Court, Roqeeb Ladeaga was sentenced for four years and six months imprisonment for conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and Bryan Aidoo for four years for conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and six months concurrent for possession of a bladed article.
On 20 June 2025, Ladeaga’s sentence was increased to five years and Aidoo’s sentence was increased to five years and nine months concurrent for the bladed article charge.