Black robber eludes police by disguising himself as a white skinhead

Henley Stephenson, 41, eluded police for more than ten years thanks to an extraordinarily lifelike latex mask, which turned him into a white skinhead. Officers discovered that their man was in fact black when they finally caught up with Stephenson after a string of armed raids dating back to 1999. Police believe that the mask may have been used on several different occasions and have asked colleagues to look into unsolved cases involving a white robber. The mask was bought from the same Covent Garden store which supplied masks that were worn by robbers who carried out a £40 million heist at jewellers Graff Diamonds in New Bond Street in 2009. Stephenson's gang were arrested in July 2011 in a Flying Squad ambush as they targeted a cash-in-transit security guard outside Curry's at Staples Corner. Stephenson, of Westminster, central London, has been jailed for a total of 14 years at Wood Green Crown Court. He pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to 20 counts of robbery and five counts of possessing a firearm.