In March, six men aged between 18 and 28 who made up the WoolyO gang were given prison sentences ranging from four years to 15 years.
The gang, based in Woolwich, 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.
They were linked to two shootings on the Cherry Orchard Estate in Charlton and in one video they assigned bullets to various named individuals from opposing gangs.
The gang were busted after making drill music videos bragging about gun crimes online (Image: Essex Police) Last Thursday, June 20, their sentences were referred to the Court of Appeal as “unduly lenient”.
The original sentences received were:
- Dafe Orogun, 22, of Edington road in Abbey Wood, was jailed for 15 years
- Karan Singh, 19, of Sandy Hill Road in Woolwich, was jailed for nine years
- Bryan Aidoo, 19, of Whitgift Street in Lambeth, was jailed for four years
- Roqeeb Ladeaga, 23, of Westhorne Avenue of Eltham, was jailed for four-and-a-half years
- Stephen Ayanleye, 28, of Erwood Road in Charlton, was jailed for five years
- Gabriel Adepoju, 23, of Rommany Road in West Norwood, was jailed for four years
All six sentences were referred to the court of appeal, though appeal judges found that only the sentences of Ladeaga and Aidoo could be said to have been unduly lenient.
Aidoo’s sentence was increased to five years whilst Ladeaga’s was increased to five years.
In the cases of the other defendants, appeal judges said whilst their sentences may have been “on the lenient side” they were not outside the range of sentences open to a reasonable trial judge.
When they were sentenced in March, detective Inspector Yoni Adler, who led Essex Police’s investigation, said: “These convictions are the result of outstanding and committed detective work by both Essex Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit and The Metropolitan Police’s Trident teams, working extremely closely to ensure that all the defendants were traced and charged.
“Each and every day both forces work hard to target criminals who threaten the safety of our communities and to take them off our streets.
“The WoolyOs boasted about their criminal activity and came to Essex to commit further crime. They carried firearms and even filmed themselves doing so.
“They tried to glamourise their lifestyle: but it’s a lifestyle that has caught up with them.
“These convictions show that carrying guns comes with punishment.
“Two of the defendants chose not to admit their guilt and challenged the evidence, making up stories about their involvement.
“But thanks to the professionalism and expertise of all the officers, and the weight of the evidence, the jury were able to see through those lies, finding them guilty.
“Guns have no place on our streets, and we will robustly investigate anyone we believe to be carrying them, as in this case.”