Kashif Ashraf, 34, and Khalid Ashraf, 28, both of Portland Road, Smethwick, were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court to six and seven years respectively after they were found guilty of four street robberies.
The robberies took place between 21 June and 6 July last year and in each occasion the pair preyed on lone women who were using their mobile phones at the time.
The first robbery on 21 June was in Islington Row Middleway at 6.45pm; a 23-year-old woman was followed as she walked from Fiveways Island and into an underpass where the duo lay in wait. The woman’s phone was grabbed and as she screamed for help they knocked her glasses off and rubbed chilli powder into her eyes leaving her temporarily blinded and in a great deal of pain.
Nine days later at 12.40pm on 30 June, they robbed an 18-year-old woman again seen on her phone outside the Marriot Hotel at Fiveways Island.
One of the brothers grabbed the phone while the other rubbed chilli powder in her eyes.
Their third robbery was later the same day (30 June) at 5.30pm where a 30-year-old woman sat on seating near to Morrison’s Supermarket on the Hagley Road. When the woman refused to let go of her phone, they scratched her hand to release her grip.
The brazen pair were eventually caught minutes after their last robbery on 6 July at 8.45pm in Upper Dean Street. They snatched the phone from a 39-year-old woman; as they ran off one of the brothers turned round and laughed at her. A passing member of the public, who had seen the robbery, chased the pair and also managed to flag down a passing police car who were then able to arrest the pair and recover the phone.
Investigating the robberies was Detective Constable Jamie Simon, he said: “On each occasion, the brothers targeted women who were on their own. They saw them using their phones and then lay in wait to attack them at an opportune moment.
“Three of the women were physically hurt during their ordeal particularly when the substance believed to be chilli powder was used. We believe this was a deliberate attempt by the brothers to try and mask their identity.”
He continued: “Both cynically elected a trial, even though they both knew the weight of the evidence was against them. Neither showed any remorse throughout the trial or gave any thought to their victims who were all clearly left upset and traumatised.
“In summing up the trial, the judge described it as a short campaign of terror, targeted against vulnerable females, which was clearly planned and aggravated by the fact that chilli pepper was used as a weapon during two of the robberies.”
At the time of the four robberies, Kashif Ashraf was already on bail in connection with an attempted robbery on a lone woman − he was found guilty of that offence in September last year. During a preliminary hearing, Kashif pleaded guilty to the 6 July robbery but maintained his innocence to the other three throughout the trial.
