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| Sadistic robbers jailed for life | Sadistic robbers jailed for life |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A gang of armed robbers have been jailed for life for kidnapping people off the streets and subjecting them to "sadistic and brutal violence". | A gang of armed robbers have been jailed for life for kidnapping people off the streets and subjecting them to "sadistic and brutal violence". |
| More than a dozen pedestrians and motorists in London were beaten and stripped of their valuables. | More than a dozen pedestrians and motorists in London were beaten and stripped of their valuables. |
| London's Wood Green Crown Court heard one man had his arm broken and another was tortured with a cigarette lighter. | London's Wood Green Crown Court heard one man had his arm broken and another was tortured with a cigarette lighter. |
| Pedro Frota, 19, Sofian Majera, 22, and Robert Lincoln, 18, all from east London, admitted 17 robberies. | |
| The court heard they cruised London at night armed with guns, knives and baseball bats looking for victims. | The court heard they cruised London at night armed with guns, knives and baseball bats looking for victims. |
| Homophobia and racism | Homophobia and racism |
| People they kidnapped were stripped of their valuables and warned they would be tortured or killed unless they handed over their pin numbers. | People they kidnapped were stripped of their valuables and warned they would be tortured or killed unless they handed over their pin numbers. |
| Threats ranged from being shot and having their throats slit to their eyes being gouged and being burnt alive. | Threats ranged from being shot and having their throats slit to their eyes being gouged and being burnt alive. |
| The jury was told the gang broke the arm of one victim who was so frightened he could not tell his attackers what they wanted to know. | The jury was told the gang broke the arm of one victim who was so frightened he could not tell his attackers what they wanted to know. |
| Francis Sheridan, prosecuting, said it was made clear homophobia and racial hatred occasionally played a part in the selection of victims. | Francis Sheridan, prosecuting, said it was made clear homophobia and racial hatred occasionally played a part in the selection of victims. |
| Luis Frota got a four-and-a half year sentence for his part in the robberies | |
| In the dock were: Jamaican national Robert Lincoln, 18, from Barking, east London; Rwandan Sofian Majera, 22, from nearby Dagenham; and Portuguese national Pedro Frota, 19, also from Barking. | In the dock were: Jamaican national Robert Lincoln, 18, from Barking, east London; Rwandan Sofian Majera, 22, from nearby Dagenham; and Portuguese national Pedro Frota, 19, also from Barking. |
| Also before the court was the only gang member to avoid a life sentence. | Also before the court was the only gang member to avoid a life sentence. |
| Frota's older brother Louis, 22, got four-and-a-half years for his lesser role. | Frota's older brother Louis, 22, got four-and-a-half years for his lesser role. |
| The offences took place between 31 August and 14 December last year. | |
| All four defendants, who have previous convictions, face deportation after their sentences have been served. | All four defendants, who have previous convictions, face deportation after their sentences have been served. |